A thriving gift economy for art

Give presents Randy Grskovic’s 200 Patrons Project

In 2013, Give introduced a new method of support for musical artists. Direct gifts from fans allow artists to make and release the music they want, regardless of how they choose to distribute their work. The implications of this simple idea are far-reaching: we are laying the groundwork for a thriving gift economy for musicians on the Internet.

Artists of all kinds are adapting to new ways of making, distributing, and funding their work online. Musical artists were among the first to experience the dramatic impact that digital distribution had on creative content. Artists working in other media, including visual artists and filmmakers, have also been adjusting to this massive shift.

200 Patrons

Last year, Toronto-based collage artist Randy Grskovic ran a unique campaign called 100 Patrons. He asked his audience to become patrons of his work: 100 patrons each giving $100 to fund a set of 100 artworks. It was a huge success, funding over 100 pieces of original artwork, and created a strong connection between Randy and his patrons.

Connor and Johnny, co-founders of Give, are both patrons of Randy Grskovic. When Randy approached us to see if he could run 200 Patrons on Give, we were instantly interested. Randy’s the real deal: he makes great art and connects directly with his audience online.

“But isn’t Give just for musicians?”

Since we began, we have focused entirely on music, but the truth is, we are interested in helping all artists receive support from their fans — regardless of the medium they work in. Randy’s vision aligns perfectly with our own. The 200 Patrons project offers us an opportunity to support that vision as well as develop new capabilities for Give to be more useful for musical artists.

200 Patrons is our first “project”: a gift-based campaign that allows an artist to raise money toward a specific goal. Randy will create 200 new artworks for 200 patrons for a minimum gift of $100.

Give’s mission is to support creativity on the Internet.

While our primary focus will continue to be the of support musical artists, we want all art to thrive in a digital gift economy. We are thrilled to be part of the 200 Patrons project.

Become a patron of Randy Grskovic at iamgiving.to/200-patrons.