A Museum Quality Pension Plan for Artists

Some times you come across ideas so clever you wish you had thought of them. Moti Scriberg, as described in the most recent issue of Wired, is an artist who has devised a pension plan for artists, using the value of their peer’s donated artwork in the future as a way to subsidize hundreds of artist’s pensions in the years ahead. He gathered a collection of their works and gradually sells them off to build a cash account. He spread the risk of failure among a large pool of artists, since some would sell well and others poorly. Now the Artist’s Pension Trust has offices in NY, LA and London, and recruits 50 artists a year, until they reach 250 in 2009.

One successful artist agreed to donate valuable pieces of art every year, for a total of 20 pieces in two decades. He’ll get a regular payout of at least $500,000 after he turns 63, in regular installments. It’s like a hedge fund against the fickle art market.