Index

= "a network of co-working and community spaces".

URL = https://www.index-space.org/

Description

Learning in Public:

"The second in our series Learning in Public is an interview with the people behind Index, a network of co-working and community spaces with roots in New York and locations all over the world.

Index is particularly interesting, I think, for its peer-led programming and its funding structure. We get into both of these things below, but I’ll try to set up the structure a bit here, since there’s a lot at play: The people behind Index are also part of garden3d, which is a worker-owned creative collective made up of the design studio XXIX, the technology studio Sanctuary Computer, the sustainability strategy company Seaborne, and the digital design studio Manhattan Hydraulics. As garden3d, these studios work together in various constellations on client projects, produce their own products, and share their profits (I’m a fan of their profit share calculator, and in general, their commitment to financial transparency).

During the pandemic, garden3d set up a platform for educational programming they called Index, which they decided to make into a physical space when things opened back up. The collective put forward the money for the buildout and subsidized the first six months (detailed nicely by Index director Elie Andersen here). Index Chinatown opened in 2023 and is now self-sustaining. Just last month, Index expanded to a sister location in Greenpoint."

(https://www.are.na/editorial/behind-index-a-growing-network-of-community-spaces)