Art 4 Barter

Art4Barter

January 30 – February 6, 2009

Opening Reception: Friday, January 30th, 6 - 9pm
Artists’ Talk: 5 pm

Closing Reception: First Friday, February 6th, 6 – 9pm


Art4Barter: Co-Curated by Antonio Puri and Henry Bermudez

Antonio Puri and Henry Bermudez are inviting you to the first exhibition of the Art4Barter project. What is Art4Barter?

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: Alexis Duque, Brujo de la Mancha, Ellissa Collier, Erica Brown, Keiko Miyamori, Kim Alsbrooks, Quentin Morris, Rebecca Jacoby, Theodore Harris, Tory Franklin, and Vinod Dave. These artists are 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 good 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. The development of this project relies on the support from venues that can connect artists with members in the community that are able to fill the needs of the artists. The first exhibition will take place at Henry Bermudez Studio because no other venue was immediately available. However, we are offering to barter our collaborative artwork with institutions that will host our next exhibition.

This is Art4Barter!

We are seeking professional artists that have a need for goods and services to contact us for future exhibitions. The curators will also be offering artwork as barter to those that can provide venues for future shows.


Art4Barter at Henry Bermudez Studio, 628 B Hancock Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123,
215 923 2069, www.art4barter.com
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday from 6 to 9pm and by appointment