FAQs
What is the common thread with all these projects? What kind of art is this?
The inaugural projects are diverse in theme and scope but all are public or social-practice-based art, and all share a desire to create a common good.
What is the deal with ‘chapters’?
Because Trust Art commissions are generally ambitious, we've found that it helps talking about the projects in "chapters". Its a way to break up the projects so that we can celebrate the smaller social victories that happen on the journey towards the larger stories. Chapters are a good way to give people a sense of what a project has accomplished so far, and what remains to be done to achieve the project's vision.
In terms of fundraising, this allows us to create a sense of immediacy towards funding the next important milestone of the project. Notably, this approach gives the artists flexibility in thinking about the later stages of their project, since the onus of the fundraising will always be on the current "chapter". This is good for artists :) At the same time, it gives the people that are supporting the projects more re-assurance about funding the project on a step-by-step basis.
Why do you have so many numbers on the website?
We are making our best effort at giving the community a way to understand the art projects beyond their social and aesthetic merits, but from a financial and economic perspective as well.
What does it mean to make a gift?
By making a gift you will help bring to fruition the current chapter of a given project. You will be given shares in the project, which may in turn be given to friends as a way to share the gift with a larger community. All shareholders are invited to participate in the project's creative events, including sharing in the returns from the official auction of its artworks.
How do I make a gift?
Find a project you like and click on 'Make a Gift' on its profile page. Enter your contribution amount, your name (or click on the button to give the gift anonymously), and tell us whether you are already a Shareholder or new to Trust Art. Submit the information and on the next page we will ask you to Sign-in or Join (if you are new). You will then be sent to an e-commerce page to complete your gift with a major credit card. You will get a profile as a shareholder of the project which you can use to share your gift with others.
What is the Trust Art Fund?
The Trust Art Fund is a way to make a gift that goes towards the entire portfolio of public artist projects on the site. You can make a gift towards the Trust Art Fund in 'the Projects' page which you can find through the top navigation menu.
Is my credit card contribution safe?
Yes. We use secure technology to ensure there are never any problems with your credit card.
Can I give something other than money?
Yes, each of the projects have resources that they need to bring their current chapter to fruition. If you are able to give that resource, whether a good or service, you can get in touch with the artist. We also ask that you become a registered user. You will get a profile as a shareholder of the project which you can use to share your gift with others.
Do people get shares for giving ‘resources’?
Resources that are given to projects also earn shares.
Why would you give your shares?
Giving shares is a fun way to get friends involved in a project you think they will find interesting.
It’s more interesting than sending them a link. You’re giving them something of value in the community.
What is a "shareholder"?
A shareholder is someone who makes a gift to a project and participates in a fun experiment that aligns them with the successful completion of the project. Once a project you've made a gift to is complete, its related artworks are auctioned to private collectors and you share in the returns. We encourage you to pay the returns forward or gift them back as a way to keep things growing.
Will shares ever be worth anything?
The most important function of shares is to circulate a gift among a community, and therefore to act as engines of cohesion and trust. That said, shares also represent units of financial participation (one share for every dollar, or dollar-equivalent, you give) in the profits from the official sale of a project's artworks. The returns from the sale of the artworks are split 50/50 between the artists and the collective pool of its shareholders.
When is the first auction?
The first auction is planned for February 2012.
How are the items in the store connected to the auction?
The items in the store are a broad range of art goods, original pieces, editions, artifacts, and prototypes, all of which share the potential to grow in value as the public works they are connected to are completed. Many of these items will be included in the public auctions that occur as projects are completed. But you can also buy them now at very accessible prices, as a way to support the artists as they advance the projects at these early stages.
What can I expect from the auction?
Some projects will not generate big auction numbers and create significant earnings to share with its shareholders. Some projects will create iconic public artworks making anything associated with it a valuable art commodity that has high potential to lead to a successful auction. You can look up 'The Angel of the North' to see an example of a successful public artwork that brought in twice its cost from the selling of one piece at auction.
As a shareholder, what can I do before the auction?
Share your shares with people who can help advance the projects, that is, with well-connected people and those that have the resources that a project needs.
As an artist, how do I become supported by Trust Art? How can I start my own project?
Currently we are supporting 10 projects. Our goal is to open up the community and the web platform to more public artist projects as soon as we possibly can. But first, we want to learn. We launched with 10 projects as a way to learn what it means to fund public artists before we evolve the initiative into something that can have an effect on many more artists' lives. What we've learned so far is that we want to continue to grow as a personal community, meeting and learning about new artists in the real world, and not through an online application. So we decided to have a regular series of events where that could happen. Look at our events calendar in the News section of the website for an upcoming event in NY, and hopefully soon in other cities.
Why public art?
Why do we need a Statue of Liberty?
Why do we need a Statue of Liberty?
Because freedom is the value that unites us. It is freedom that binds us together and more than any other value defines our society.
Great public works of art embody our greatest values. They are permanent reminders of that which we hold most sacred. Great monuments are mini-economies unto themselves; they are inspirational engines acting on present and future generation. They embed an icon into the national consciousness.
Great public works of art are spells that have been cast on people of the future, causing them to remember our myths. They are works of art that deal in time, the most powerful medium.
How does Trust Art make money?
We set aside 12% of the funds raised online for each project for operational expenses associated with the initiative at large. Any retained earnings will be re-invested into the initiative; we are not a for-profit endeavor. Legally, we are an L3C.
What is an L3C?
An L3C is a new kind of American legal entity, like an LLC, but with its primary objective being a philanthropic or educational one. It was pioneered by the State of Vermont to recognize the growing movement of social entrepreneurs and has since been adopted by a number of other American states. We chose to register Trust Art as an L3C to support the movement towards social entrepreneurship. And from an operational perspective we can be as nimble as an LLC while finding more direct ways to be accountable to the public than a 501c3.
What is the decision-making process for Trust Art?
Trust Art is lead by two friends who have developed an unofficial Board of Trustees, including long-time advisor Lewis Hyde. Decisions are made by consulting community stakeholders and Trustees.
