In 1997 artist Lars Kræmmer created Artmoney as a reflection on the financial hardships of artists. To this day, Artmoney carries on the legacy of helping independent visual artists succeed.
Vancouver, 1995. In the middle: Artmoney founder Lars Christian Kræmmer surrounded by supporters.
27 years ago there was an artist, a quite unusual one. He had a problem: how could he make sure that financial struggles would not compromise his art?
One day the artist walked into a record store. When he walked out, he had a CD in his hand - to his own great surprise. The CD was paid for by an artwork he had created for the occasion.
The artist did not know it yet, but in that moment a major global phenomenon with lasting effect had been born: artmoney.
Years later, artmoney had developed into the world's first and only global currency backed by art. The currency consisted of artworks created by individual Artmoney Artists. These individual artworks are still to this day called artmoney.
An artmoney measures 12x18 cm (4.7x7 inches). Each artmoney is unique and created by the hand of an Artmoney Artist. To be valid, it must must comply with official Artmoney rules. Please se the Legal Framework for the Regulation of Artmoney® below.
Today, Artmoney is a curated network for independent visual artists. We host a carefully chosen selection of extraordinary independent artists.
We invite you to apply for admission as an Artmoney Artist. Learn about the application procedure here.
Lars Christian Kræmmer and Lars H.U.G., Artmoney no. 2018-051
Catrine Holte, Artist & Director, Artmoney
An artmoney® is a unique piece of art created by a select group of extraordinary artists. Upon application each artist has been admitted to Artmoney after careful examination.
Example of an artmoney by artist Lars Kræmmer, the founder of Artmoney:
An artmoney® has a fixed size of 12x18 cm (4.7x7 inches). Each single artmoney is the result of a dedicated artist's profound artistic creation. No two artmoney are alike.
Beyond being art, artmoney is also money. A currency backed by art. The specific rules are laid out in the Framework for the Regulation of Artmoney®: