Can Art Crowdfunding support controversial art?

Can Art Crowdfunding support controversial art?

Content in the newsletter

- We will develop a new funding model with art Crowdfunding.

- We will test it with the big "Unbearable" sculpture in Paris

- If it succeeds, we don't know, but it is worth a try.

- If you want to follow Galschiot's Art Crowdfunding, then join the list.

Background

- It is very hard to find funds for counterculture.

- We got tired of reactionary foundations and them the finger

- We are cooperating with WWF (World Wildlife Fund) about COP21 in Paris.

Dear

Art Crowdfunding: We are in the process of developing a whole new and exciting platform to support and promote our global and national art projects.

Crowdfunding is a kind of global funding, which takes place online. The type of Crowdfunding we will use is “Reward crowdfunding”. This means that a financial donation is given, and the donator is rewarded with a sculpture as a “thank you”. When you support the project you can get a bronze-model of the sculpture signed by Galschiot himself. The reward you are given depends on the donation you have made. These financial donations will hopefully create an economic base to produce the art pieces.

First it is the enormous sculpture Unbearable, a polar bear impaled by a CO2 graph, which is going to be crowdfunded. This is to be installed in Paris for the COP21 climate conference. It will be finished in November 2015. You can read more about the project here.

Galschiot has created a number of smaller sculptures, which is a kind of groundwork to the larger sculpture in Paris. There will be made 20 of these, and they will only be sold on the crowdfunding site Kickstarter as rewards. We will launch the project at September 2^nd! There will however be a chance to get a preview on this site here, but it need to be taken into consideration that we are still developing the project, and it will not be entirely finished before launch.

If this funding is successful we don’t know, but we think it is worth a try. We are a little unsure whether it is possible to raise enough money with these relatively expensive sculptures. But those who know about this type of funding believe our chances are good, since we are relatively well known globally, and this project is very concrete, and very likely can be followed in the international press and elsewhere.

If you wish to follow Galschiot’s Art Crowdfunding then join the info list here. In case you are interested in following the development of our new Art Crowdfunding Platform. You will receive specific news on the process of making and funding the sculpture, as well as which thoughts and actions are being made on the sculpture. You will also have the opportunity to first hand follow the funding from its very beginning.

Read more about our thoughts on this alternate crowdfunding below.

Our summer vacation is coming up! We have had a busy year so far. But it has been extremely exciting, and it looks like the rest of the year will be equally exciting. We are especially looking forward to exhibit the Fundamentalism sculpture in front of the EU-parliament (week 42/43) and the exhibition of the impaled polar bear “Unbearable” (week 49)

The workshop is open all days in the summer vacation from 12am to 4pm except Saturdays from the 3^rd of Juli to the 3^rd of August.

Have a nice vacation :-)

Best regards

Lasse Markus

And everybody at the workshop

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Thoughts about Art Crowdfunding

It is no secret that it is very hard to get the economical means for Galschiot’s wild projects. A lot of the people we have talked to about these projects agree that the projects are both important and exciting. They praise Galschiot for his ability to rethink art’s ability to create debate and dialogue. But when it comes to financial support they hesitate.

Galschiot sought funding for the “Children of Abraham”, the project on religious Fundamentalism, from the Danish Art Fund, and even though the project was launched within the art institution at Silkeborg Bad (museum), the project was rejected.

Then we became very tired of heavy, reactionary and not that risk taking funds, as well as the state’s equally hopeless and nepotistic art support. Our reaction was to give the Art Fund the finger and start our own fundraising by selling Galschiot sculptures to fund the project.

This fundraising resulted in 550.000 (Dkkr) in a month and financed the exhibit. We learned that it is a lot more fun to work our way through the funding, than sitting, being angry and depressed, and losing the energy we needed to make our art project.

This success has given us the drive to use this new global funding platform for our activities, and we have chosen to use Crowdfunding to build this platform on. As any artist knows it is not a problem for an artist to make art. The problem is to sell this art at a fairly reasonable price. This is where this new platform enters.

Meeting with Danish Crowdfunding Association

When we chose to move into unknown territory, we needed advice from more experienced crowdfunders. Galschiot and I therefore went to a meeting in Copenhagen, where we got positive respond on our vision and good advice for implementation. Even though there is a long way to the launch of the project, it gave us a confirmation on our vision.

Danish crowdfunding association is a professional network, which offers sparring in regards to possible crowdfunding.

“Unbearable” will be the first!

Galschiot has chosen to use the sculpture “Unbearable” as the first project for crowdfunding. Its significance and sex appeal is some of the reasons, why we have chosen this project. Most likely it will not be the last, because Galschiot is counting on, that crowdfunding has the potential to be a possible financing strategy for more of his artistic projects.

As formerly mentioned “Unbearable” will be exhibited in Paris at COP21 at the end of November. “Unbearable” images a huge polar bear, which is impaled by a CO2 graph. This will remind the world leaders of their responsibility towards the climate, and we are expecting it to get a central place in Paris and at COP21. The donations from the crowdfunding will go to transport, exhibition and the casting of the sculpture.

Cooperation with WWF - World Wildlife Fund

We are cooperating with WWF (World Wildlife Fund), which is one of the biggest environment organizations in the world. WWF has given a good contribution to the production of the sculpture, and we have therefore already started on building the sculpture. The cooperation with WWF will give the “Unbearable” project a larger opportunity for global exposure in connection with COP21 in Paris. We are looking forward to this cooperation.

Announcement of crowdfunding with “Unbearable” on a large cultural meeting in Denmark

Galschiot and the workers at the workshop have this summer been to a large cultural meeting in Denmark, which is called “The Peoples Meeting”. At this meeting they had the giant “Unbearable” sculpture in wax with them to show the participants at the meeting. They presented Galschiot’s crowdfunding vision of the “Unbearable” project, which was received with great support. It is going to be exciting to see, if this support persists. But it usually does.

It is possible to see pictures from the meeting here.

*****************

About Jens Galschiøt:

At the moment:

Galschiøt is a sculptor who works with international art installations. At the moment he is working on a gigantic project about the religious tensions in the world.

He has named this art and dialogue project ’The Children of Abraham’. The focal point of the project is the 3.5 meter tall and 70 square meter sculpture called F.U.N.D.A.M.E.N.T.A.L.I.S.M. It is made of these letters made in 8,000 copper books symbolizing the Torah, the Bible and the Quran. 24 big monitors constantly display the ’brightest’ and the ’darkest’ quotations form Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
See concept click for the art project English - German - Danish