A Quick Overview of Our Accelerator Program Terms

Inversion Art chooses two groups of 15 or more artists each year to invest in. We buy an amount of artwork from each of them equal to 30% of what their practice earned the prior year. If the artist earned our minimum of $50k, we will buy $15k of work. Our maximum investment is $100,000.

Working with Inversion Art is a five year engagement (with the option for both parties to extend). During the five years, Inversion Art commits to providing the three-month accelerator program and a suite of artist services designed to help artists operate a streamlined studio and stay focused on their creative output. This includes a dedicated Artist Liaison, accounting services, tax services, basic legal services, inventory management, web management, and HR services.

In exchange for our capital investment, ongoing access to the advisory team, participation in the alumni community, and these administrative services, Inversion Art receives a 15% fee on all revenue generated by the artistic practice during the five year engagement. This excludes hourly or salary teaching income, speaking engagement fees from nonprofit organizations, awards or grants where work does not change hands, and income not related to art. These income sources are also excluded in the assessment of how much work we purchase through our investment. Fees that include commissioning of work or artist fees from museums and other institutions including curatorial, creative strategy, art direction, and other fees are included in both the initial assessment of income and the revenue sharing fees.

It’s important to note that, although the 15% revenue sharing coincides with the period during which Inversion provides its studio services, this fee is not in exchange for the services alone. Inversion Art takes on considerable risk and expense through its capital investment, providing the 3-month program and exhibition, and ongoing access to the advisory team and peer community.

Inversion Art is also committed to providing our services regardless of what may happen with an artist’s income. Artists are bound to see fluctuations in their income levels. Regardless of what income an artist is earning from their creative practice, during our five-year engagement, Inversion Art is committed to providing support and services.

Artists do not have to make use of all of the services, but they are required to give Inversion oversight of inventory management and accounting.

In addition to our initial investment and the services, Inversion Art requests an option to purchase up to $500,000 in additional work over an eight (8) year period at a 15% discount to the market rate. Though the purchase of additional work is not guaranteed, these options can prove very favorable for our artists. When we are able to, the options can be tapped to finance new projects and opportunities.

For example, if an artist is offered a museum exhibition with a contract that does not fully cover production costs, Inversion may choose to exercise some of its options, which would provide the artist with the necessary funds to finance these crucial opportunities. All of the work that Inversion acquires through these options is subject to the same pro-artist terms as the other work we collect.

Determining Our Initial Investment

When we purchase work, we do so under artist friendly terms. Our purchase of work can be current inventory if agreeable by both parties, or it can be a commission toward new work. Works can be purchased through a gallery if the artist wishes.

Inversion Art pays fair market value for the initial works we purchase. Each artist who makes it to the second round of the application process will disclose the details of their sales for the past 24 months, so both parties will have a clear understanding of the artist’s recent sales and will work together to determine a fair price for our purchase. As long as the prices are in line with other recent, similar works, we’re happy to pay full price.

Determining these details is an important part of the 2nd round application process and helps us determine what it will be like to have a business relationship with the artist. If we feel that an artist is not negotiating in good faith, is difficult to work with, or seems apprehensive to sell their stronger work to Inversion, it’s likely to affect our final decision about moving forward.

If an artist is accepted into the program, Inversion Art will pay in full for all currently available works as soon as all agreements have been signed and the artists’ LLC and banking are set up and managed by Inversion. For commissioned works, we will pay a 50% deposit toward the first work and the other 50% upon completion, then another 50% deposit toward the next work if applicable.

After an Artist Has Been Accepted

Each artist accepted into the Inversion Art program will be set up with an LLC or S Corp for their artistic practice, as well as separate banking. Some may already have this set up. If they do not, Inversion Art will handle the filing of paperwork to register their corporation, including the fees associated with filing. This LLC or S Corp will be owned 100% by the artist.

The artist will sign an agreement with their own corporation committing to conduct all of their art related activities under the umbrella of their corporation for at least five years. The artist’s corporation and the artist will then engage Inversion Art in a five-year agreement to provide financial, legal, web, payroll, and other services in exchange for a fee equal to 15% of company revenue.

Inversion Art will then set each artist’s LLC up with its own bank account through our banking partner, Mercury.com. Once we have all of the artists’ paperwork and the LLC and bank accounts have been set up, we will deposit our investment into the account. There will not be a 15% fee assessed on our purchase/investment.

Once the LLC and banking are in place, Inversion Art will begin handling inventory, accounting, billing, and other services on behalf of the LLC. Each month, during the course of managing the LLC’s accounting, Inversion Art will invoice and collect from clients, galleries or other partners. It will pay any expenses owed by the practice, process Inversion’s own 15% fee, and distribute the remaining money to the artist via a payroll service or as a dividend in order to lessen any tax burdens. Each artist will always have 100% transparency into the accounting and finances of its corporation.

When the Engagement Ends

After the five year period has ended, it’s our hope that the artist and Inversion will have enjoyed working together and will mutually choose to continue with an arrangement. If an artist decides they no longer want to retain Inversion Art’s services, we will work together to seamlessly hand off management of the LLC and its finances back to the artist and their team. It is our goal to return to them a streamlined organization and process that they can continue on their own, with strong best practices and an optimal approach to minimizing tax burdens.

Regardless of whether an artist continues to use the artist services, every artist will continue to have access to the community tools that we’ll all use to engage with one another. We will also continue to provide career guidance and advocacy for as long as an artist maintains good standing within the community. We see our relationship with our artists as lifelong, even if there is no financial relationship after our engagement has ended.