Dedicated to supporting artists, TheArtists launches a new digital sales platform that presents a dynamic opportunity to discover, support and collect the works of international artists without gallery representation, creating an alternative space for a more accessible art market. Marking its launch, TheArtists.net unveils three curated selections by acclaimed artist Gregor Hildebrandt, art collective Slavs and Tatars, and UK-based curator Maya El Khalil, the first of many more to come.
February 2022 – TheArtists is a new non-profit platform with the goal of supporting and promoting the work of contemporary artists not (yet) represented by a gallery. Eager to share new perspectives on the international art scene, and to propose an alternative model to traditional art market models, this new initiative gives the artists a voice and visibility. At its core lies TheArtists.net, an online platform to discover, support, and collect carefully selected works by seldom presented artists, curated by world-renowned artists, curators, and professionals. Marking its inauguration, the first three curated selections were hand-picked by reputed German artist Gregor Hildebrandt, art collective Slavs and Tatars, and UK-based curator Maya El Khalil, featuring over 25 international artists.
TheArtists.net will unveil at least four curated selections a year – for each iteration, the invited curators select artworks of outstanding quality accessible exclusively via TheArtists’ digital platform for a limited time period. Driving the selection are the artists themselves, giving rise to an entirely transparent process and resulting digital platform on which each artwork selection comes supported by high-quality visual documentation in tandem with insights into each artist’s creative process, records, and interviews.
Free and open to all, TheArtists is conceived as a levelled meeting place for art world professionals of all horizons – gallerists, curators, institutions, collectors and the general public – allowing them to uncover new talents while having access to distinct and specifically crafted materials, contextualizing the work of each artist. Ultimately, TheArtists becomes a place for connoisseurs and amateurs alike to start and grow a collection.
A bold alternative and complement to the traditional gallery model, TheArtists.net offers art at reasonable prices with unprecedented financial transparency, mirroring a fair and equal process for all its artists. “65% of the sale proceeds get paid out directly to the artist. Upon conclusion of each selection, 5% thereof goes into a community fund which is split equally between all artists of one selection. The remaining 35% are entirely reinvested in the project and its continuous expansion in the long run.”
In addition to the digital sales platform, as a constantly evolving contemporary online archive, cultivated by the very individuals that constitute it, TheArtists support each artist in presenting their work, communicating their practice, and facilitating an initial entry into the art world and market. A key aspect is the individual coaching and mentoring of the artists themselves – as all participating artists receive practical assistance and consultation to further develop their practice, expand their network, and navigate the art world on the long term, understanding the dynamics of a very fast shifting art market.
Moving away from notions of selectiveness, each selection is conceived to reflect a group of artists and their works to coexist on TheArtists’s online platform in a manner that mirrors the vision of the given curator – often an artist themself – at a given time. As such, the resulting online presentation develops organically, with the ultimate ambition of fostering a community rather than nourishing a form of exclusivity often observed in traditional market models.
Selection # 1 | Gregor Hildebrandt
The first selection is curated by German artist Gregor Hildebrandt, who currently lives and works in Berlin. Hildebrandt has selected 15 artists – approx. 200 artworks – produced by his students at the Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Presented artists include: Julia Emslander, Erik Esso, Ana Daniela Koch, Lara Koch, Jaemin Lee, Peng Li, Timur Lukas, Ly Nguyen, Boris Saccone, Laurentius Sauer, Gemma Solà Sotos, Ludwig Stalla, Franz Stein, Johanna Strobel, Esther Zahel, and Peter Zahel.
Selection # 2 | Slavs and Tatars
The second selection of artists is curated by the internationally renowned art collective Slavs and Tatars –and is devoted to artists from Eastern Europe. Five artists from Poland, Slovenia, Belarus, and Germany present approx. 100 artworks in a variety of mediums, including sculpture, experimental photography and digital paintings. Presented artists include: Florian Auer, Rafal Dominik, Uladzimir Hramovich, Stane Jagodič, and Renata Rara Kaminska
Selection # 3 | Maya El Khalil
The third selection by curator Maya El Khalil focuses on four young talents emerging from the Saudi art scene. Presented artists include: Afra Alsuwaidi, Sarah Brahim, Bashaer Hawsawi and Aziz Jamal.
Future selections will be curated by Director of the Hamburger Kunstverein (Germany) and future director of MUDAM (Luxembourg) Bettina Steinbrügge and Turkish conceptual artist based in Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Ahmet Ögüt, Mitchell Anderson, artist and founder of off-space Plymouth Rock in Zurich, and Swiss artist Raphael Hefti – to cite but a few.
TheArtists was created by Maren Brauner, Martin Heller, Michael Oswald and Beat Raeber – four art world professionals with the mission to give visibility and support to contemporary artists all-the-while setting forth new models based on a dynamic, transparent and accessible experience of art. They explain:
“A timeless observation in the art world has been the necessity for artists to be independent on a material level in order to focus on their artistic practice. Our platform places itself at the crossroads between offer and demand – a meeting point for engaged, inspiring artists to present their work, in a transparent and loyal manner, to aspiring collectors and astute professionals alike. Our platform pledges to establish a culture of best practice, where respect and antidiscrimination are paramount in our dealings, towards artists, customers and any third party.”
In addition to the digital sales platform, TheArtists also invites to studio visits and physical exhibitions, offering an unparalleled insight into the artists’ practice for collectors, art professionals such as gallerists, curators, art advisors and the like. TheArtists is an ongoing invitation to get acquainted with unknown positions, diverse practices, and ultimately to get to know and support artists.
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
About the Founders:
Behind TheArtists are Maren Brauner, Martin Heller, Michael Oswald and Beat Raeber. Beat Raeber is an enabler and supporter of contemporary artistic practice and has worked with internationally renowned artists with his former gallery RaebervonStenglin. Michael Oswald is the Creative Director of his agency OSW. Martin Heller is a Berlin-based lawyer and a longtime experienced consultant and counsellor for artists, galleries and institutions worldwide. Maren Brauner is a curator, art mediator and editor.
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