Please take a look at the following video from a recent exhibition.


The Common Threads Art Collective is a cooperative committee run by members of the Retail Action Project (RAP).  We are retail workers and community allies who work together to make retail workers’ experiences more visible through art and culture.  We strive to support and create opportunities for artists working throughout the NYC retail industry.

Making Retail Workers’ Experiences Visible....

Members of the Common Threads develop leadership and organizing skills and are working to make positive changes in the retail industry and their own communities. We provide creative support to RAP’s campaigns to improve the work lives of retail workers. Members have used their skills video, photography, illustration, and graphic design to develop RAP as an organization and enhance campaigns. Currently we are pursuing public art and creative direct action as a way to address workplace injustices in retail. In May 2009, we led a workshop with the broader RAP membership to explore creative ways to draw attention to our experiences in retail.

Supporting artists working in the retail industry....

Common Threads is a creative vehicle for artists in the retail industry to gain exposure, collaborate, and network. Common Threads shines light on retail workers’ creative skills and in doing so, put a human face workers in retail that has value and worth.  In November 2008, the Common Threads Art Collective organized “Common Threads: Artists in Spite of Retail,” a successful month-long exhibit of 25 artists at the Brecht Forum.