Cool idea! A new company called Mutual Art has created a pension fund for artists, which they fund by "investing" artworks rather than cash.

The advisory board includes John Baldessari and Kiki Smith.

The list of artists accepted into the initial trust includes Tim Lokiec, Jules de Balincourt, Aida Ruilova, and Anthony Goicolea.

Here is the description from their FAQ of how it works:

A region-specific selection committee comprised of individuals who are broadly experienced in working with emerging artists will identify artists to be invited to apply for participation in a Trust. The committee will review each applicant's work and select those who will participate in a Trust. Only self-employed artists may participate in APT.

The Selection Committee members for the APT, New York are Clarissa Dalrymple, Jeffrey Deitch, David A. Ross, Jack Tilton and Simon Watson.

APT is a barter-based program. Rather than cash, participants will contribute works of art to their Trust, investing 20 works over a 20-year period. Artists will start to receive income 20 years after the inception of their APT.

Income for payments to the participants will come from the sale of works held by a Trust. Fifty percent of the net proceeds from these sales accrue to the retirement benefit accounts of all participants and the remaining fifty percent will accrue to each artist's own retirement benefit account. Each artist receives an equal share of the pooled funds generated by the sale of the works held in a Trust, thereby benefiting from the collective success of all of the artists in their Trust. Additionally, each artist is rewarded proportionally to individual market success, since 50% of the net proceeds of the sale of his/her work are invested in individual benefit accounts.