Cultural currency

Art-Money (AM) works much like a national currency that represents a gold reserve. Will it make for a more colorful world?

Remember the Art*o*Mat concept we highlighted? Well, thanks to Mads Bab, we spotted a new art initiative called Art Money. A Danish idea, it’s basically a currency made by artists worldwide. In principle, Art-Money (AM) works much like a national currency that represents a gold reserve, only AM represents an art reserve distributed among the participating producers. AM can be exchanged for art at any time from any artist in the Bank of International Art Money (BIAM). AM measures 12×18 cm. Each note or bill displays a serial number, year of creation, BIAM home page address, optional logo, the artist’s name and the artist’s original signature. When an artist deals in AM, the new keeper is registered by the serial number on the note. This way, the artist compiles a network of art collectors for his or her own use and BIAM is secured against forgery. All artists are listed in the BIAM index, and anyone can ensure the genuineness of the note by searching for the artist’s name on the homepage. The value of AM follows the rate of the euro. AM is a world currency and its value is not affected by the artist’s name or where in the world it is produced or used. The purchasing power of AM equals 20 euro in the year of production, and each year the value increases by 5 euro, until the 7th year, when it settles at 50 euro. The value of AM is therefore determined from the production year. With most participating artists originating from Denmark, the founders are actively looking to sign up as many artists from other nations as possible. An interesting concept, especially with the current enthusiasm for bartering, alternative market places and peer-to-peer transactions.

Opportunities

No, Springwise doesn’t foresee Art Money replacing the dollar, euro or yen anytime soon. However, the concept of creating one’s own currency should make marketers drool: it could make for a fascinating marketing stunt, whose value in terms of PR would be many times larger than the direct proceeds. Clearly, there are some similarities with fads like trading cards, flippos or spinners, though this currency would involve the owner adding value using his or her creative talent. From an investment point of view, there may also be an excellent business in scooping up original works of art by promising artists. Or, if you’re in banking or finance, why not sponsor an initiative like this? The worlds of art and money may have never experienced such a creative match!Obviously, we know this was probably not conceptualized to first and foremost inspire greedy marketing and business professionals (the founders call it ‘soft cash’, and have some pretty cool ideas for how this could work in emerging economies), but that’s what comes with entering the world of haute finance! 😉