Ardhi Gallery and CPF Financial Services partnered to launch a financial inclusion platform for these visual artists. The platform—whose name is yet to be decided—is designed to empower artists with the financial tools they need to build sustainable livelihoods.
It provides access to savings and interest-earning opportunities, a group credit system to borrow against pooled savings, trust accounts, grant proposal support to local and international funding, medical insurance, financial mentorship and literacy, royalties protection, and pension plans tailored to both emerging and established visual artists.
Christine Oguna, founder of Ardhi Gallery with a professional background in finance, entered the visual arts world two years ago. She quickly discovered a niche of supporting artists to gain access to financial institutions.
“Most artists find it difficult to work with formal institutions since their income is irregular. This platform differs from mainstream systems because it allows them to save any amount they receive,” she explains.
The platform focuses on artists’ income, financial goals, and sales processes, supporting the evolving dynamics of the visual arts sector.
Painters and sculptors usually struggle with access to formal savings that earn interest and medical insurance. This platform addresses both gaps, while also offering financial literacy programs and investment opportunities led by CPF Financial Services.
Many artists struggle to balance creativity and financial stability. The platform is designed to receive payments and allow artists to allocate funds for essentials like medical insurance, giving them the freedom to focus on their work without constant financial stress. Its automated system makes accessing balances simple, allowing artists to manage funds efficiently and safely.
Oguna believes that the relationship between art and money is crucial. Artists need financial resources to buy tools and maintain their health to work. With support to manage their funds, they can work comfortably, produce more, and enjoy financial freedom, which also enhances creative freedom.
Art has long been undervalued or mispriced in financial systems, but this platform ensures fairness by providing business management training, including pricing, budgeting, and financial planning.
Trust with a community that has often felt exploited in traditional art markets is central to the initiative. The platform prioritizes autonomy, giving artists control over their finances and the ability to decide where and how to showcase their work. Ardhi Gallery does not control its funds, ensuring transparency and independence.
Oguna’s long-term vision is to see artists, both individually and collectively, with enough resources to buy tools, host exhibitions, and build studios. While the platform currently focuses on visual artists, it will expand to other art forms as the need grows.
Her personal journey through studio visits has provided first-hand insight into how artists create and live, shaping the design of this platform.
When artists first engage with the platform, Oguna hopes they feel supported, secure, and financially independent.
“I want them to feel they are being taken care of, to feel safe about their futures, and to gain financial freedom where they don’t feel stressed, with something reliable to fall back on,” she says.