Artist Luc Leestemaker Creates Possibilities for Other Artists

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Artist Luc Leestemaker announced today the formation of The Art Fund Corporation, ( http://www.theartfundcorporation.com/ ), a venture capital, management and consulting group for the arts. The Art Fund Corporation (AFC) will act as an investor, catalyst and incubator for artists, by investing in and nurturing their careers. AFC will provide the necessary capital needed to introduce and expose artists and their work to new markets. The Art Fund Corporation is acutely aware that artistic talent can only take an artist so far; proper funding, and a marketing and business approach are also essential.

The Art Fund Corporation will use its resources and expertise to invest in artists with long-term career potential, who seek real change and are ready to take their artistic expression and awareness to the next level. Luc Leestemaker, Founder and President of AFC, is an artist who wants to help other artists. "I believe that an intelligent, creative and caring society can only be built by authentic, creative minds. I remember how many doors were shut on me when I first started to try and sell my work. Although I had both an arts and business background, it took me a long time before I started understanding that success comes from being creative both in the studio and in the office when it comes to finding creative ways to bring your art into the world. Now that I've found my success, I want to assist others in learning the tools that can make their careers successful," said Leestemaker.

Leestemaker initially thought of creating an emerging artists fund, modeled after the numerous art funds that have been created in the mutual fund market over the last few years. These funds essentially deal in secondary art, while AFC intends to create value by buying up work at reduced prices, putting the work in holding while building the artists' careers which hopefully will increase the value of their art over time. But for now Leestemaker has decided to focus mainly on teaching the artists "to fish, rather than give them a fish," so the emphasis is on helping the artists develop the tools that will empower them and ultimately make AFC redundant. "An effective teacher has succeeded when the pupil doesn't need him anymore." says Leestemaker, "So the sooner the artist stands on his own legs, the better it is for him and for the company."

The Art Fund Corporation has a unique approach with its artists. AFC commits to support the artist for an agreed amount of time and specifies the amount of money that will be appropriated to each artist with the understanding that all recipients of its funds must eventually return the financial investment to AFC. A clear blueprint is designed at the start of the working relationship between AFC and the selected artist that clearly defines the artist's goals, such as, desired income, where to sell the art work and the time frame it will take the artist to complete projects. AFC and the artist agree to work together for a certain amount of time until the goals of the artist are met.

The Art Fund Corporation works in partnership with other organizations and corporations -- sponsors are in Leestemaker's vocabulary called "Promotional Partners" -- to raise the necessary capital for investment and to help both enhance artist recognition as well as assist AFC's artists in fulfilling their goals and projects. Leestemaker: "I think that it is time to change the perception of art in the world; both for the artist who is conditioned to believe that he can barely survive, and also for corporations who have until now looked at art as only something charitable." "Art can be used in commerce," Leestemaker continues, "as a superb communication tool to introduce new services and products to the world. As traditional advertising platforms continue to decline, art can be used to reach desired demographics including the highly educated -- often at a fraction of the sponsoring costs in other fields such as sports and entertainment."

Luc Leestemaker, President and Founder of the Art Fund Corporation, was born and raised in the Netherlands. Combining an interest in both art and communication, he worked as a painter, actor, writer, journalist, and acted as President and Founder of Amsterdam based Leestemaker & Associates, a consulting firm, specializing in the arts. He was also the founder and editor of a monthly cultural publication, bridging the business and arts community.

After immigrating to the US in 1990 he decided to return to his first love, painting. His work is now exhibited around the world, and part of major corporate and private collections. A number of retrospective museum exhibitions were organized in the last two years, two books were published about his work, and a documentary which highlighted Leestemaker's life and work was screened at a number of film festivals.

Leestemaker became a US citizen in 2003 and decided to pay back a society that has been so generous to his career, by forming The Art Fund Corporation, with the aim of assisting others in finding the same tools that he created for himself that made him, in his words, "a creative entrepreneur, able to function successfully in the 21st Century." Assisted by a small, highly knowledgeable team of experts from both the arts world and business community, Luc Leestemaker will -- initially -- personally be involved in day-to-day operations. He brings his unique qualities and understanding as both an artist and business mind in to one creative mix. He has one simple goal: Empowering others to learn how to successfully use their skills in becoming creative minds in self-sustainable careers.

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