Software built with the people who use it.
artistrun.space exists because artist-run spaces, independent artists and intentional communities have gone without decent tools for too long — not because nothing was possible, but because nobody built it for them specifically, without strings attached.
What we actually believe
Not a mission statement written by a marketing team — a short list of things we keep checking our decisions against.
Open source, always
The code underneath artistrun.space is Cocoso — free, public, and inspectable. You're never locked into a black box, and you could self-host tomorrow if you wanted to. We just make it easier not to.
Your data stays yours
No ad trackers, no algorithmic feeds, no selling member data to third parties. What your community publishes belongs to your community — full stop.
Built by practitioners
Cocoso was built inside a real artist-run dance theatre and co-learning space, by people who needed it themselves before anyone thought to sell it. That origin still shapes every decision.
Free for individual artists
Any artist can make an account and use it themselves, at no cost. Only spaces and organisations running their whole programme through it pay — and never for what an individual does with their own profile.
Cooperative, not extractive
We charge spaces enough to keep the lights on and the support human — not to maximise margin. Pricing scales with size, and solidarity rates exist for spaces running on very little.
Small by design
We limit how much support we take on so the support we do give is real. If we grow, it will be slowly, and on these terms.
Global by nature
A space that only talks to itself is missing half of what a network can do. Residencies, exchanges, traveling artists, shared open calls — connection is a feature, not an accident.
Where this comes from
A short history, because context matters more than a polished origin myth.
The starting point
Cocoso began as software for a single artist-run dance theatre and co-learning space in Gothenburg — built because nothing else fit how the space actually worked: shared calendars, member portfolios, resource bookings, a public programme, all in one place.
Real-world growth
Other collectives, alternative schools, cooperatives and community currency projects started using it. Cocoso stayed open-source and general enough to fit spaces very different from where it began.
artistrun.space
A hosted, supported version of Cocoso, configured specifically for artist-run spaces, galleries, performance venues, residencies and cultural collectives — so you get all the power without managing servers or deployments yourself.
Now: the network
The next layer isn't a new tool — it's the connective tissue between spaces that were never able to find each other before. Discovery, exchange, shared calls. That's what we're building toward.
We're building this alongside a broader push for cooperative culture.
Initiatives like Artizen's Artist-Run Spaces Fund for Cooperative Culture exist because artist-run spaces have been under-resourced for too long, and because cooperative, artist-led work is finally being recognised as worth funding properly. We're glad to be moving in the same direction.
Read about the fundTwo ways in
Neither one requires talking to a salesperson first.