ARTIST'S PENSION FUND UPDATE
This plan was presented to the GIA Individual Artist Preconference in Pasadena in 2005 and was met with skepticism. It was not a very coherent presentation, which may have masked its potential.
Here’s an update:
When the scheme was first set up five years ago in New York, its prospects were dim. Could the concept – a mutual fund in which artists invest in their own future – take off? Yet it has, and the APT now operates eight trusts in 60 countries. Some 1,100 artists have deposited 4,500 pieces, with a total value of about $50m (£30m).
From the outset it had some of the big guns of the art world supporting it. Former San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum director David Ross provided the art expertise, while Shniberg and economist Dan Galai ensured it had a firm financial footing.