ARTS GUNS CROWD 4 HIRE paying off for O’Brien and his team, as the fledgling art company has received much greater than expected interest from venues, artists and even artists looking for jobs. “We’ve had a great response, and really grateful to all the venues who’ve agreed to support local artists by becoming an Artscrowd venue.” DIGGING DEEPER, I ASK, O’BRIEN WHAT IT MEANS TO BECOME AN ARTSCROWD VENUE - HOW DOES IT ALL WORK? “The premise of Artscrowd is fairly simple”, he explains “We ask venues (Cafés) what type of art they’d like to display, what price range, how many pieces, and what sizes they can accommodate. Realistically it’s usually 4 or 5 pieces. We then notify our database of artists and the artists upload their work for selection. The venue browses through submissions looking for their favourite pieces and selects the winners.” The “winners” are then given an opportunity to display their work for sale in the venues for a period of 2-3 months, exposing their artwork to hundreds of potential buyers during that period. “It works because it’s been designed so everyone wins. Artists install and takeaway the work and keep 70% of all sales. Our venues retain 10% without having to do any of the legwork or pay any of the costs associated with buying and leasing, or managing the tax receipts and capital gains complexities usually associated with selling artwork.”
Artists have welcomed the initiative as Art galleries often request commissions as high as 50%, and in some cases, even charge the artist to display their work. “We wanted to change that, and help artists get their work seen by more people, in more places. Too many artists I know have amazing work just sitting in storage. If it’s in storage, it can’t be appreciated, and it certainly can’t be sold – and don’t get me started on Art holed up in self-managed super funds!” O’Brien’s excitement for art and helping artists is contagious, and he’s excited about the future of the business and it’s potential to transform the look of even the most modest café’ into a vibrant art space. “It excites me to see a venue sign-up to Artscrowd and literally transform the look of the whole place. It’s amazing what well chosen art can do.” WHEN ASKED ON HIS PLANS TO EXPAND THE BUSINESS O’BRIEN IS LESS FORTHCOMING: “We are excited by the possibility of taking Artscrowd to other countries but it’s important we keep improving the experience for both artist and the venue owner. I love going into our venues and seeing amazing art on the wall. It makes me proud to think we’ve played a role in making that happen – it’s a real buzz.” Whilst it may be early days for Artscrowd and O’Brien this is an idea that has all the makings of a real Australian success story, and is an exciting development for the Australia café’ and Australian art industries.
www.artscrowd.com
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