seeking exhale volume ii

seeking exhale volume ii

“And the depth of the laughter! The way it seemed to go so far down inside it scraped the inside bottoms of the feet. No one laughed like that anymore.

Nothing seemed funny enough. When his uncle and his guests finished laughing, they’d seemed lighter, clearer; even their activities appeared to be done more gracefully. It was as if the laughing emptied them, and sharing it placed whatever was laughable and unbearable in its proper perspective.”

-Alice Walker, The Temple of My Familiar

1

one september afternoon i was running up flatbush avenue by prospect park and i saw that someone had left some windows on the grass. i paused. i wondered. who left them there? where did they come from? were there empty holes in the walls where they used to be? would someone come back for them? i became transfixed.

2

i went down a window rabbit hole. i learned that a root meaning of the word window is ‘breath door.’ breath door! breath door.....what a phrase.....like lungs... windows let air in and let air out.... through the window, light and music stream in, the scent of dinner and the sound of laughter waft out. windows make it easier to breathe, easier to live. i clung to this. we live in unbreathable and unbelievable times. we are facing down the 6th great extinction of species on earth, multiple genocides, fascism, white supremacy and militarism, patriarchal and transphobic violence. we are suffocating. in this atmosphere, within the regime of capitalism, how might we welcome deeper breath? return to it? be steadied by it?

3

could we build our own breath doors? could we conjure, nurture, sustain thresholds to breathing easier? could we protect what it is in our lives that affords breath as we also imagine alternatives to this abysmal status quo?

4

comedy + the solidarity economy are breath doors. laughter helps us ease up on ourselves and each other. that sigh after someone cracks you up is of relief. humor refuses suffocation, guides us toward the political and spiritual transformation that is needed right now. the solidarity economy prioritizes wellbeing, shared decision making, and meeting everyone’s material needs. it is ecologically attuned and balanced. it is regenerative as opposed to extractive, it is democratic as opposed to dominating, it is guided by care instead of greed.

5

what is the solidarity economy?

it includes cooperatively run businesses, land trusts, time banks, credit unions, community gardens, and more. there are countless examples across space and time! the solidarity economy is alive and growing and 6 can make capitalism obsolete.

the solidarity economy is alive and well in New York City!

Cooperative Economics Alliance of New York City (CEANYC) strengthens and expands communityled, democratically-controlled initiatives — from worker, financial and consumer co-ops to community land trusts and gardens, mutual housing, and low-income housing co-ops.

7

What and where are cooperative and solidarity-based groups operating?

Who leads them? And how can you support their work? Look no further..

Seeding Solidarity Map 8

CEANYC hosts and facilitates spaces for groups to deepen relationships, ground themselves in solidarity economy principles and coordinate their work — economically and politically. For example, they host the

Cooperative Leadership Intensive a“deep-dive” training designed to build the skills and analysis needed for functional personal work ecology, leading values-aligned decision-making, and addressing oppression and power in an organization. All while building a network of peers to support ongoing economic and political cooperation.

9

GET INVOLVED

10

Solidarity Economy Organizations to follow and support:

11

The New Economy Coalition a coalition of 200+ organizations building the solidarity economy in the U.S. and showing that another world is not only possible — it’s already happening.

Art.coop is a network of artists and groups who make the Solidarity Economy irresistible.

New York City Network of Worker Cooperatives is the trade association for worker cooperative businesses in the NYC metropolitan region.

New Economy Project NYC an organization whose mission is to build an economy that works for all, based on cooperation, equity, social and racial justice, and ecological sustainability.

Learning Resources: www.economics4emancipation.net https://creativestudy.com/solidarity -economy Remember the Future podcast: Art.coop invites listeners to Remember the Future together by listening to the stories of artists and culture bearers who know that the practices of the Solidarity Economy are not some new technology, but actually are ways of being in relationship with people and planet that are as old as time.

12

“…laughter is a contagion. those who laugh are its vectors, and one of laughter’s qualities is that it can draw us together by reminding us of the breath we share. Which also reminds us, or can—especially when we fall off our chairs, when we gasp for air how we sometimes do—of the dying we share.”

- Ross Gay, Inciting Joy

may you laugh and care with abandon, may the knowledge of our shared mortality make us kind and give us courage 13

thank you! there’s no comedy with no audience and no lasting economic and political transformation without your participation :) if you enjoyed this zine, consider venmoing @getyourhahas with subject ‘zine’ - all proceeds will go to CEANYC! to stay in the loop about future shows follow @sauceycomedyshow on instagram or if you’re off that grid sign up for the email list here:

want another copy? email skallison.27@gmail.com and I will send you one!

14

assembled by kendall allison february 2025