Launching a bartering network for artists
Bruce McKaig recently launched a bartering network for artists.
Bruce McKaig first became interested in cashless, or barter, economies when he was living in a small village in Guatemala. He noticed that the residents there fared better by trading with each other to meet their needs.
Not only that, but he observed that the community thrived because, as he put it, “Bartering fosters personal interaction and strives to find a common ground where all parties are satisfied.”
McKaig, who is in his mid-50s, lives in Baltimore City’s Artists’ Housing Co-Operative. He said the co-op living experience has profoundly influenced him, and made him want to translate it to Baltimore’s artistic community.
The result is Trade4Art — a Baltimore-based barter network that connects artists with skilled workers, allowing them to directly exchange their skills, goods or services without cash and free of additional fees. Trade4Art will have its public launch at this year’s Artscape, a free annual arts festival that runs from July 21 to 23.
McKaig noted that other barter networks exist, both locally and nationally — such as the Barter Network, Trade Now and the Baltimore Gift Economy.
Photographer and economist
“Arts advocacy is more critical than ever, given the current political and economic climate,” said McKaig. “Just when we are at our most divided is exactly when we need the arts to unite us. We must do all that we can to expand — not restrict — access to the arts.”
To learn more, see www.trade4art.info.
