NON PROFIT ART: KICKSTARTER AND ART BASEL

At times it can be quite difficult to really look forward, however it’s the only way to face the future: that’s why today I’d like to tell you more about Art Basel’s decision to join forces with crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. A choice that has revealed to be an example of remarkable foresight. In a time when lack of public funding is compromising the future of many programs, Art Basel – the world’s most influential art fair – has decided to take a gamble, combining its authoritativeness with Kickstarter’s numbers in order to provide financial support to non-profit art projects around the world.

Before the crowdfunding stage, Art Basel selects the most suitable projects through a jury made of industry experts that will evaluate the overall quality of the ideas submitted. Only then, Kickstarter’s crowdfunding starts. The resulting combination of two different audiences – art aficionados on one side and Kickstarter backers on the other – is what guarantees adequate funding.

Is there going to be a return for this investment? On the short run, not likely. However, as Art Basel’s director Marc Spiegel explains, this is the most intelligent choice an affirmed institution such as this one could possibly take. Let’s think about the future: in ten or twenty years time the seeds that have now been dispersed by the wind, with the help of crowdfunding will begin to sprout, while a whole art ecosystem will be by then ready to converge into Art Basel. A lesson that teaches what clarity of mind is really all about, but also that reminds of the importance of being able to look forward, which doesn’t only apply to the art world.