Art Swap – August Gallery March 2009
On CDOs and Double Clubs — Call for Artwork
On CDOs and Double Clubs is co-curated by AUGUST art, a London art space, and Giacomo Picca, an artist who curated draw_drawing_ (London 2004 and 2006, part of London Biennale). The exhibition will be in AUGUST art’s gallery space in Islington, London UK, in March 2009.
The Project:
On CDOs and Double Clubs is an experiment looking at the value of art. It seems an apt time given the global economic uncertainty, with the acquisition and prices of art falling. Damien Hirst stirred controversy with his statement that “art is only worth what someone will pay for it”. But to those who refute this by saying that art’s value is intrinsic, there is the question of intrinsic to whom? Intrinsic via the institutional subscription process still leads back to the art market, even indirectly through the need for financing. Joseph Beuys said that real capital is not money but people as the sum of creativity of all individuals. This experiment seems one way to test that.
The project will consist of this open invitation and an exhibition of all submitted works. It will also include an art swap, where participants may choose to swap art for art (or something else of value). The aim is for no money to be exchanged, only value for value. We, as curators, are questioning our subscription role by relinquishing it. Artists are being asked directly the question of value, both intrinsic and extrinsic, in choosing to participate (or not) in the exhibition and the art swap. Viewers, too, have their part to play. To acquire an artwork in the swap, they need to assess value without the benefit of gallery endorsement and pricing and determine their own method of payment.
The final part of the project is the documentation of the art swap as the findings from this experiment, which will be made publicly available.
Art Swap – August Art March 2009
Sources:
Art Swap Participants: http://www.giacomopicca.co.uk/artswapparticipants.html