COHAB was a network of three European arts organisations comprising The Showroom, London; Casco, Office for Art, Design and Theory, Utrecht, and Tensta Konsthall, Stockholm.

For two years (2012–2014) COHAB investigated meaningful ways in which artists (and organisations) can be deeply invested within their local contexts and at the same time form close dialogues on an international arena. The project comprised of a series of four ‘keynote’ artists’ productions; local ‘action research’ projects led by each organisation, involving artists projects developed with the participation of communities who share the concerns of the project; and a series of knowledge-exchange meetings in connection with the project Cluster – a network of similarly scaled and situated organisations across Europe.

Drawing on areas of commonality – such as our ‘situated’ ways of working – COHAB links our work together more closely to explore themes that are relevant to each of us: questions of locality, community and ‘the commons’ in relation to forms of social and economic organisation, and more broadly, questions of cohabitation both on a local and European level, developing fresh models of how to work together as arts organisations.

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COHAB was supported by a Cooperation Measures grant from the European Commission Culture Programme (2007–2013). The title COHAB is borrowed from a project by Can Altay at Casco in 2011, developed in the framework of Circular Facts (2009–2011).