What is Artshare?
Artshare is a community-based online platform connecting hosts with creators who wish to travel to create new work, share their skills, expand their network or experience new cultures. In essence, we combine elements of:
- Work-exchange platforms that enable travellers to share their time and skills in exchange for food and accommodation
- Community marketplaces that allow hosts to rent out extra space in their homes to guests
However, what makes Artshare different is that we cater to creators (makers, thinkers, doers…from any discipline or background), who can benefit from a platform that enables them to connect in a more meaningful and convenient way with like-minded people who support and are passionate about culture.
Contact us if you have any questions. We’re here to help!
Mission
To support the artistic development of creative individuals
Vision
Our vision is of more creative and collaborative societies
Values
Respect, inclusivity, collaboration
Our story
Where it all began
The idea behind Artshare began with a trip to Fuerteventura (Spain) in 2016. A friend of mine and I had been commissioned to write the original music for a short-film and needed some time and space to focus on the project. The film had been produced and directed in the Canary Islands so we decided to go there in the hope that soaking up the Canarian atmosphere would spur our creativity (but the mild climate and breathtaking scenery were definitely a plus!).
Our plan looked great on paper but it had a couple of flaws; we neither had enough funds to book accommodation nor any idea of how long it would take us to write the score (days, weeks?). Looking for an artist residency was also out of the question as we weren’t ‘professional’ artists and needed something far more flexible and accessible.
In the end we were lucky to find Silverio, a Canarian potter who agreed to provide us with food and accommodation in exchange for helping him for a few hours per day (with tasks such as painting, maintenance and looking after animals). It was, in hindsight, an improvised artist residency in which we all pooled our resources (skills, time, space…) to get projects done. I went on to repeat this experience afterwards in different countries (Mexico, Colombia, Scotland…) but it was always a hit-and-miss process as the scope of most work-exchange platforms is, for better or worse, too broad.
This led us to found Artshare in early 2021 during a stay at another alternative artist residency in Dumfries and Galloway (Scotland), believing that there should exist an online platform that, amongst other things, caters to artists and enables them to find inspiration, discover new cultures and connect in a more meaningful way with hosts who value and support the arts and culture.