History of the Inter-Cooperative Council of Ann Arbor

Painted in the Michigan Cooperative House dining room by former house member Matt Wimsatt, this mural (inspired by the Detroit Industry Murals of Diego Rivera) is a symbol of the labors and liesure born from the cooperative housing movement. Two houses emerge from a cell undergoing mitosis in the foreground while below in the background the harsh working conditions of the industrial revolution formed the foundation that the cooperative housing movement was based upon, symbolically represented as two sapling pines (referencing the twin pine logo of the ICC) with their roots stemming from the scene below. Above, people dance and enjoy the fruits of their own labor as imagery representing the food and infrastructure that supports human society frames the sides of the painting.

This painting celebrates the homes that the Inter-Cooperative Council built and continues to manage while acknowledging the hard work that got us to where we are as well as the work that we must carry out in our day-to-day lives to continue enjoying the "fruits" of  a self-determined community.

A close-up of the poem placed centrally within the We Work, We Play mural. The text reads:

"We Work, We Play

The unsuspecting child whose life was improved by the knowledge of others.

As we work and as we play, the renewal of the cooperative spirit is driven by the energy of each and every one of us.

The fruit of our labor enriches the soil of the movement, filling the splendid fields with revelers and their ripe offerings.

From mother earth comes our stamina and wisdom, allowing us to leap forward and change the world from day to day.

-Matt Wimsatt"