Artist Yinka Shonibare named as The Smart Fund ambassador

23rd June 2021

British artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA has been named as the ambassador for The Smart Fund campaign, a collaboration between the creative industries, technology manufacturers and the Government. 

Turner Prize nominated artist Yinka Shonibare has has joined a coalition of arts industry organisations campaigning for the Smart Fund, which could generate a huge annual investment for the creative industries and boost a wider economic recovery post-Covid.

Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist based in London. His work explores issues of colonialism and post-colonialism alongside those of race and class. He has exhibited at the Venice Biennale and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2004. Shonibare was recently announced as this year’s Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition coordinator.

The Smart Fund provides a direct way for tech companies to invest in, empower and enrich the cultural DNA of our society. The proposed fund would work by placing a small levy onto mobiles, laptops, PCs and devices that are built to allow people to download and store content, solving the problem that artists are not recompensed for the use of their work.

Yinka Shonibare, Photograph by James Mollison, 2014

Yinka Shonibare says:

‘The Smart Fund is a no brainer. Currently there isn’t any effective way for creators to be recompensed when their work is downloaded and stored by audiences. This remains one of the largest untapped opportunities for creators and performers. The Smart Fund provides a way to invest in creative talent of all ages and backgrounds and their communities.’

Artist Yinka Shonibare named as The Smart Fund ambassador

23rd June 2021

British artist Yinka Shonibare CBE RA has been named as the ambassador for The Smart Fund campaign, a collaboration between the creative industries, technology manufacturers and the Government. 

Turner Prize nominated artist Yinka Shonibare has has joined a coalition of arts industry organisations campaigning for the Smart Fund, which could generate a huge annual investment for the creative industries and boost a wider economic recovery post-Covid.

Yinka Shonibare is a British-Nigerian artist based in London. His work explores issues of colonialism and post-colonialism alongside those of race and class. He has exhibited at the Venice Biennale and was shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 2004. Shonibare was recently announced as this year’s Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition coordinator.

The Smart Fund provides a direct way for tech companies to invest in, empower and enrich the cultural DNA of our society. The proposed fund would work by placing a small levy onto mobiles, laptops, PCs and devices that are built to allow people to download and store content, solving the problem that artists are not recompensed for the use of their work.

Yinka Shonibare, Photograph by James Mollison, 2014

Yinka Shonibare says:

‘The Smart Fund is a no brainer. Currently there isn’t any effective way for creators to be recompensed when their work is downloaded and stored by audiences. This remains one of the largest untapped opportunities for creators and performers. The Smart Fund provides a way to invest in creative talent of all ages and backgrounds and their communities.’