PostArt artists at the local market

A sustainable art market

Speaking of development aid in general, we think that there is too much focus on misery and suffering. Todays Africa is rich in art and culture and around the continent we find a large number of talented artists - artists who are an important factor in building strong and democratic nations.
This we would like to support, and PostArt will create a sustainable marked for art, without support from the government only lead by market forces and a good share of idealism.

You can find us on Facebook here (unfortunately mostly in Danish) 'Støt kunstnere i udviklingslande'

The economy behind PostArt

Our basic concept is to sell art at a fixed market price and at the same time to support African artists. This is of course difficult. Market conditions means that PostArt must earn a surplus to keep business running - and the sales price must be realistic. At the same time it is important for us to secure the artists resonable working conditions and to pay them more than the local market price. We have discussed our costs and profit with the artists and together with them we have set the sales price. In this way we follow Danish Fair Trade principles.
When you support an artist and buy a PostArt you should of course know exactly how much the artist will get. Therefore we are totally transparent about our economy. We have signed contracts with all our African artists. According to the contract  we charge 500 danish crowns (aprox. 90 US) for a PostArt painting and the money will be distributed as follows::

Artists share 150 kr.
Materials, shipping, framing 50 kr.
VAT 100 kr. Tax
50 kr.
PostArt share 150 kr.

Out of the 150 kroner we pay:
• Running costs of our webshop
• Repayment of investment in website and research in Kenya
• Fees for our two coordinators in Kenya

In total we have invested approx. 80.000 kroner. In other words we must sell more than 500 PostArt paintings before we earn a surplus. Fortunately the artists get their 150 kr without any deduction every time we sell a painting. And indeed, 150 kr is worth much more in Kenya than in Denmark. If an artist sells five to six paintings it equals one months salary.

Ererything has been discussed and checked thoroughly and we have been improved as importers by Fairtrade Danmark - this we consider a pat on the back and a recognition of our concept.

You can read more about Fairtrade Denmark here http://fairtrade.dk