What is the Autonomous Zone (Azone)?

The Autonomous Zone is a collective space orientated towards social liberation and creative communities, where people can freely exchange ideas. We provide resources for activists and people striving for autonomy in their lives.

We have 1600 sq. feet of space for event hosting, a vegan kitchen, an office space used for administrative work and organizing, computers with internet access, art supplies, a radical art gallery, an area to post upcoming events, free or cheap shirts, patches, buttons, magazines, books, a huge radical zine and book library.

(the above statement was pasted from Azone's web site)

Besides the radical zine and book library, their Queerzone is the main reason I became interested in this project in that it includes space and invites activists and artists to hold events for queer communities here. They seem to still be in the planning stages for it, so if you are anywhere near Chicago (wuz up, Alaska!!!), check it out and offer some helpful suggestions. I know there's plenty of collectives around, but this is one of many that can give us some good ideas on how to start ones on our own communities (Hint! Hint!)
By the way, I just bought the book Insurgent Muse: Life and art at The Women's Building by Terry Wolverton. This house was an art collective for feminists and was founded by Judy Chicago. It offers some really interesting suggestions as to how to utilize different rooms inside an art collective space that evoke creativity. Also, it gets into a wide array of issues involving feminist activism-- from protesting to creating visual art-- that challenges the status quo. It's ol' skool feminism for sure.
Yee haw!