(Antonio Puri and Henry
Bermudez are inviting you to the first exhibition of their
Art4Barter project. The following article was submitted by them.)
It
hit us that bartering may be the answer to bail us out of our
current crisis. Although artists have historically been bartering as
much as possible we feel it is more relevant now than ever before.
It can provide a solution to survival for so many of us and create a
new vision for society.
We propose, as a start, an exhibition of eleven exceptional artists
from diverse backgrounds, and will present their works for barter.
No works shall be sold for money but rather for services and goods.
The exact service or product that the artist requires will be on the
label next to their art.
For
example, if an artist were to ask for dental work or other medical
procedures in exchange for their art, or for a studio to work in,
etc., it will give the community an opportunity to barter for those
items that are missing from the artists’ lives.
The
irony is that art is missing from the lives of many people too,
because it is treated as a luxury item and not as an essential part
of our lives. This system will not only inspire people to trade with
artists, musicians, writers, dancers, and other creative minds, it
will also make society less judgmental about valuing different
services. When this becomes the norm, bartering will be a
respectable activity and will create relationships between people
from different trades.
Society will be able to provide opportunities to artists that were
inconceivable before this. In addition to being one of the greatest
human events in the beginning of the new millennium, we are also
expressing a change that the rest of humanity can participate in.
By
creating a vision of a new cultural standard, whereby people can get
through hard financial times by participating in a win-win
situation. This idea can spread to people from all societies of the
world, but we envision it will begin in our community of
Philadelphia.
