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In a similar vein, the Adger Art Center in Kristiansand (Norway) has constituted a
resource centre for the visual arts and artists of its region.The centre administers all
public art projects in the area and acts as the main artistic advisor in several private
and public real estate development projects, creating market opportunities for the
local visual artists and helping them to earn an income from art.
There is a growing trend amongst cities to impose a percentage of their budget to be
allocated to art. It is the case of Helsinki for example but it also happens in smaller
cities. In another Nordic country, the Swedish city of Linköping (104,232 inhabitants) ,
has adopted a “One percent rule for site-specific art”, which establishes that 1% of the
total costs of new public buildings must be spent on art and applied art.The importance
of this initiative for the city is twofold: it promotes the commissioning of artistic works
by public authorities –thus fostering job opportunities for artists–and beautifies public
urban spaces (schools, kindergartens, sports facilities etc.) through site-specific art.
Thanks to digitalisation, other mechanisms of support for the arts have arisen, such
as “crowdfunding”.This alternative means to raise money for the arts is characterised
by “an open call, essentially through the Internet, for the provision of financial
resources either in form of donation or in exchange for some form of reward and/or
voting rights” (Belleflamme & al., 2010).The objective of crowdfunding is to finance
a specific project or enterprise, for example the acquisition of an artwork or
supporting the organisation of a cultural event. Usually contributors are promised
immaterial, material or financial rewards
9
. Relying on word-of-mouth within networks
of contacts and on the aggregation of a great number of small contributions,
crowdfunding requires a genuine campaign to trigger engagement amongst Internet
users.This way, not only does crowdfunding contribute to raise money for the CCS
but it also helps to create stronger bonds with audiences, enabling citizens to take
an active role in funding and shaping creative products and ideas (EENC, 2011). Some
cities have used crowdfunding as a complementary resource to manage the
preservation of cultural heritage or the commission of art in the public space. In
Carcassonne (France) for instance €20,000 were raised thanks to people’s donations
ranging from €1 to €2,300 for the restoration of the statue of “Dame Carcas”, symbol
of the 47,000 inhabitant medieval city. Platforms are also flourishing on the Internet
to give more specific support to visual arts, such as “Art Basel” for example
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.
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There are different types of crowdfunfing according to the rewards given: donations without any reward
(donor pooling and patronage), crowd sponsoring, pre-selling, lending and investments (micro-equity and
revenue-based financing). For more information about crowdfunding in the CCS, see the report by the
European Experts Network on culture (2011),“Crowdfunding schemes in Europe”, p.12.
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Art Basel: Crowdfunding platform for visual art projects
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basel-crowdfunding-platform-for-visual-art/
CreArt Seminar “The Art in the Research Studies on Cultural Policies”, 27 September 2013,Arad
