CSAs for Local Arts Take Off

Two Minnesota arts-focused non-profits worked together to launch a CSA program for local arts.

By Kathryn Hawkins. Posted on October 09 2011

The community-supported agriculture (CSA) movement has inspired many Americans to care about where their vegetables come from. So, a group of St. Paul arts administrators of the non-profit Springboard for the Arts figured, why not do the same thing for local artists?

Betsy McDermott Altheimer, associate director of the organization, came up with the idea last year. Before long, the group had built a partnership with another non-profit, mnartists.org, and in May 2010, the two groups began offering “shares” of local artwork to shareholders in the new arts CSA. The organizations offer 50 shares in total, and shareholders will receive nine original pieces of art for their $300 investment, as well as the opportunity to attend three parties with the artists involved.

Shareholders don’t have a say in what artworks they receive, yet Altheimer believes those who’ve chosen to contribute believe their investment is worthwhile. “An artist can’t guarantee that everything he does will be great” she told American Craft Magazine. “But he can ask people to invest in the value of what he does.”

Since the Minneapolis groups’ successful launch, other arts CSAs have already popped up in other cities including Chicago and Cambridge, Mass. If you’d like to launch a similar initiative in your own community, check out Springboard’s guide to setting up an arts CSA.

Filed under: Arts and Culture,

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