Pension for artists provides long-term financial security

Artist Pension Trust enables participating artists to contribute works over 20 years and create a long-term income for their community.

Creating art doesn’t come with a pension scheme, so the Artist Pension Trust (APT) aims to provide contemporary artists with long-term financial security.

Emerging artists can apply or be selected by APT’s expert curators to join one of the globally-distributed trusts, and each artist must contribute one piece annually for 20 years. Artists receive 72 percent of sales through APT — 40 percent goes directly to the artist, and the remaining 32 percent is redistributed amongst other artist trust members, in a pro-rata model. The remaining 28 percent covers the running costs of the non-profit APT, who provide a secure archive for the artists’ works. The collective will sell pieces at maximized prices via their expert panel, loan works to galleries for promotions, and enter some artwork into competitions.

APT currently holds over 10,000 works, and is the largest contemporary art collection in the world — the sales of which will support participating artists for decades. How else could creative industries ensure financial stability for artists?