Street Art: How do artists fund their work?

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Crossing the border into galleries, museums and auction houses, “Street Art” has become institutionalized. Some may say that this makes it less subversive… but the work in the streets in general takes precedence and is what really captures the attention of true aficionados.

The commercial success of the scene allows artists to finance their trips as well as all the other necessities involved in their creations, but how do these iconic murals really make any money?

Whilst traditional galleries favour the visibility of their artists on the platform of large museum collections, this is not always an option for so-called street artists, and galleries therefore push their presence onto the walls of the world.

Although galleries profit from the hors les murs activity of their artists, galleries earn their commission in more or less the same way, no matter what the principal medium of the artist. JR has claimed to fund the majority of his projects by way of artwork sales, and English gallerist Steve Lazarides explained to H A P P E N I N G that he had previously funded the French photographer’s Favelas project early on in his career.

HAPPENINGThe iconic gallerist elaborated on the subject, saying: “I don’t have so much interest in paying for murals because I find it a bit boring. It’s more investing in doing the crazy ass projects that we’ve undertaken over the years. Like Bedlam or Brutal, these massive out-of-gallery shows that are getting like 20-30,000 visitors in 10 days. I’m much more interested in putting on ground-breaking events and dragging in the artists that we’ve worked with over the years, but also incorporating a lot of artists we don’t work with: video artists, performance artists… On a personal level, the mural thing has become a mechanism for property developers to raise the prices in shitty areas.”

French artist Speedy Graphito told us how his practice varies according to each gallery, and their status "In the US, my gallery (Fabien Castanier) finances activities such as murals and performance. In France I finance my own projects, the market is harder to penetrate and there is less investment

Among some of the more original approaches, is that of Nicolas Laugero Lasserre, president and founder of Artistik Rezo. By creating a gallery that doesn’t take any commission from his artists, he has provided an open available space, which is quite frankly a resounding success.

Itinérance gallery in Paris also sends their artists off to paint walls as well as orchestrating a host of crazy projects, one of which is currently in development. Collectors linked to the gallery finance exterior production. Artcurial expert Arnaud Oliveux explains how collectors of street art, more than for other mediums, “want to have an active role in the artist’s career.”
 

Crowdfunding, not for everyone?


HAPPENINGIn 2014, Brazilian twins Os Gemeos — stars of the scene, represented by New York gallery Lehmann Maupin — called upon the generosity of the public to finance a work in Vancouver. As part of the Vancouver Biennial, five silos were painted by the artists. The financing campaign launched on KissKissBankBank saw great success, realizing over $70,000 towards total estimated costs of $125,000. Showing sustainable, visible results, the huge body of work gave legitimacy to the process.

This path should be trodden carefully: a collaboration between two mega-stars, JR and Angès Varda, saw intense criticism as the funding request seemed unjustified. The two artists were seeking €50,000 to fund their road trip-film, they did indeed realize the full sum. In any case, the social utility of the work, the sincerity of the approach and background artists are all determinants in the assessment of contributors’ choice.
 

Straight to the hammer


Street artists are characteristically more regularly seen at auction than other contemporary artists. As Oliveux explains “it is equally linked to the fact that in the early days there were very few galleries that supported and sold their works. Auction houses therefore substituted the galleries.

HAPPENING“The relationship to the street correlates to a direct relationship to the public,” says Oliveux. “Street artists are more accessible in the way in which they interact with the urban space. Elsewhere in the contemporary art world, galleries can create a barrier. Whilst street artists search for institutional recognition, they still need this financial support.”

Things are evolving progressively, but the arrival of auction houses could have at one point been the most damaging influence on the market. According to Lazarides most street art auctions group together “bad works by good artists and terrible works by shit artists” which apparently in 2007/8 “almost completely tanked the scene.”

From each side of the camp, a varying analysis…


 

Photos: Lazarides Gallery © Ian Cox / JR @ Reillanne / Artcurial, photo William Plummer/Monde Académie