Artist Pension Trust Makes First Financial Distributions of $200 to $1,700

Artist Pension Trust®, (APT), the only service providing long-term financial security to artists, has made its first financial distributions of between $200 to $1,700 to over 400 participating artists in the New York and Los Angeles trusts after a successful sales pilot.

This is a major landmark in APT's development having started in 2004 with the intention of providing financial security for selected artists along the lines of a mutual assurance fund. APT aims to hold every artwork deposited into the collection for an average of 10 years to generate optimum returns. Overall, APT now comprises around 14,000 works of art and is one of the largest private contemporary art collections in the world. A record 73 APT artists were represented at this year's Art Basel in Basel, 16 - 19 June, 2016.

The nature of the program means that artists receive a yearly financial amount that is directly related to their own and to other fellow artists' successes throughout their careers. The unique patented APT model is structured in such a way that if one artist's career takes off, other artists in the program benefit with a share in the total proceeds which will, from now on, be distributed on an annual basis as sales continue and accelerate in the coming years.

"Having been involved in APT since its inception, I am very pleased to see the APT model enter its next phase of sales and distributions." said David A. Ross, Co-founder of APT, Chair of the MFA Art Practice Program at the School of Visual Arts and former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, SFMOMA and ICA Boston.

Artist Zoe Crosher, whose work is included in the collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MoMA and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, has participated in APT since 2007 and is pleased by how the program is unfolding. "It's great to see the model beginning to work," she said.

APT currently comprises nine pools in the major art centres around the world including New York, London, Los Angeles, Berlin and Beijing. In total there are around 2,000 artists from 75 countries who have been chosen to participate in the program.

"I'm grateful that APT has designed a system that encourages artists to root for each other. And I'm grateful that APT has provided what is essentially a pension for us", said Joel Tauber, artist, APT Los Angeles pool.

Artists participating in each of the trusts have committed to deposit a number of artworks over the course of 20 years in order to be eligible to receive the yearly distributions, depending on the number of artworks deposited, after the sale of works. APT holds these works until its independent experts consider that it is the optimum time to sell. When a work is sold, 40% of the net proceeds go direct to the artist, and a further 32% is distributed amongst all the other artists in the pool according to the number of artworks each has deposited with APT. Total sales in the pilot program were $452,085, of which $217,278 were sales for APT New York with 32%, or $69,529, being distributed across all New York collective artists. APT Los Angeles sales were $234,807 with 32%, or $75,138, being distributed across all Los Angeles collective artists.

In addition to giving its artists financial security, APT gives international exposure to the careers of its artists by showcasing the collection through loans to leading museums, including Tate Modern, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and KunstHalle by Deutsche Bank. APT's advisory board includes Lady Elena Foster, chairman of the Tate International Council, John Baldessari, leading conceptual artist, and a number of curators around the world who recommend artists for enrolment to the program.

"APT provides a unique financial model and a new way to reach an international audience. Giving exposure and enhanced financial security to new artists is key to developing their career. It's great to see the program working." said John Baldessari.

"This is a wonderful example of bringing together artistic endeavour with financial security for many of the up-and-coming names in today's contemporary art world. It's exciting to see how APT works globally and nurtures new artists as well as nourishes relationships within the international art community, " said Lady Elena Foster, chairman of the Tate International Council.

About Artist Pension Trust®
Artist Pension Trust ®, (APT), nurtures and supports the careers of 2,000 artists from 75 countries and holds one of the largest collections of international contemporary art, comprising around 14,000 works of art. The unique patented APT model is used around the world including the art centres of New York, London, Los Angeles, Berlin and Beijing. Artists deposit 20 artworks over a 20-year investment schedule with 72% net proceeds distributed to the individual artist and the other artists in return for the deposit of artworks into the collection. The model provides each artist with financial hedges, diversifying risk for both emerging and successful artists while also exposing the artist to the international art world.

APT is based on a risk management financial model devised by Moti Shniberg, a successful serial entrepreneur and co-founder of APT, Professor Dan Galai, leading world economist and APT co-founder. APT was also co-founded by David Ross, a Chair of the MFA Art Practice Program at the School of Visual Arts and former director of the Whitney Museum of American Art, SFMOMA and ICA Boston.