Artist Pound
What would it look like if artists created the economy?
The Artist Pound is a growing socially engaged arts practice, research project and ecological/economical prototype with the understanding that creativity has value beyond the market and that artists should be able to exchange their time, skills and ideas in ways that reflect this.
Inspired by the Dandelion, often dismissed as a weed but deeply regenerative and abundant, the Artist Pound draws inspiration from the natural world to imagine a currency system that is generous, adaptive and relational.
Beginning with a Huddle
The early shape of the Artist Pound began forming during my time with HuddleCraft x Economic Justice Brum in January 2025, a reflective and supportive programme to nurture ideas. It was through the intentional space of the Huddle that I was able to pause with peers and reflect on the recurring questions in my practice: How do artists sustain themselves, not only financially, but emotionally, collectively, culturally? What do we trade to stay visible? Unfortunately, for those of us living outside of traditional employment systems the trade is often isolation, burn out and financial precarity, despite the immense value we offer to civic life.
The Huddle gave me the space to begin naming something I’d long felt, that our creative ecosystems rely on far more than funding rounds and competitive applications. Our systems are built on care, generosity, the quiet labour behind the scenes and the informal support networks that often go unrecognised.
Building the story
From those reflections, the Artist Pound was seeded. One part of this involves building a visual storyworld: a digital landscape that helps people understand and interact with complexities of economics and the ideas behind the Artist Pound through immersive design and playful storytelling.
The Artist Pound also invites artists to reflect on what they value in their practice and how that value is expressed, received and exchanged. The first public iteration of this part of the project opens on Friday 1st August, 2025 at Stryx Gallery as part of Digbeth First Friday, featuring creatives from Stryx Gallery studio holders, BCU graduates and local creatives. Each of them has responded to the prompt ‘What is your currency?’, and in their own unique ways are contributing to a wider dialogue about creative labour and sustainability in Birmingham and beyond.
Looking Ahead
As the Artist Pound evolves, I hope to deepen this inquiry. Connecting it to broader contexts of ecology and community wealth. I’m interested in how place-based practices can speak to one another across space and time boundaries and how we might reimagine value systems that honour both people and planet.
This project is ongoing and responsive. I invite others to bring their own insights and currencies into the conversation. You can follow the journey on instagram @artistpound