Can arts funding be self-sustaining?

Inviting the sector to pitch in, new startup ArtsPay envisions the role it could have in paving the way to a self-sustaining arts ecosystem.

In October last year, Sydney Contemporary – Australia’s largest art fair – announced their partnership with new tech startup ArtsPay to transform their transaction fees to a meaningful contributions to the arts.

In essence, ArtsPay’s goal is to create a sustainable funding source for the arts, through the arts.

The initiative launched with $97,000 in funding from the Australia Council’s Re-imagine program in May 2021, targeted at projects making an impact on sector recovery.

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Celina Lei is the Diversity and Inclusion Editor at ArtsHub. She acquired her M.A in Art, Law and Business in New York with a B.A. in Art History and Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. She has previously worked across global art hubs in Beijing, Hong Kong and New York in both the commercial art sector and art criticism. She took part in drafting NAVA’s revised Code of Practice - Art Fairs and was the project manager of ArtsHub’s diverse writers initiative, Amplify Collective. Most recently, Celina was one of three Australian participants in DFAT’s the Future of Leadership program. Celina is based in Naarm/Melbourne. Instagram @lleizy_