A modest proposal

Vermeir & Heiremans' project, 'A Modest Proposal (in a Black Box)', investigates if financialisation can be repurposed as a tool to create more equitable conditions. The artists' proposal suggests that financialising public art collections, museum real estate and their symbolic capital could create a cycle of wealth that will benefit not only investors and institutions, but also the creators of these values, the original stake-holders, the artists and art workers. 'A Modest Proposal' aims to benefit artists and art workers, but its implementation raises some fundamental questions: can values originating from public goods be claimed for the benefit of specific stakeholders, or should the funds rather be redistributed through a political process? These pressing questions were addressed during the symposium for which Vermeir & Heiremans invited a number of speakers working in the fields of financial geography, art and law. The texts assembled in the present publication focus on the relationship between art and finance, the contemporary role of public museums and collections and the influence of financialisation on urban processes and daily life. The ultimate question the symposium wished to address is whether finance can be a useful tool to create a more equitable society. Exhibition: Pump House, London, UK (02.10.-16.12.2018)