Lots of Art as Money events in Berlin this week:

On the 17th of April I will give a talk, we will show the "Transformoney 2.0" documentary about money and the Transformoney Tree at Burningman, and the Exchanghibition Bank will pop up at Betahaus Berlin. More info here and Facebook event here.

On the 16th I will be one of the presenters at Pecha Kucha Berlin. (link with info and Facebook event)

On the 18th we will do a money customizing event at Platoon to collect more art for the Transformoney Tree. (info and FB event)

And on the 19th the Exchanghibition Bank will pop up at Kater Holzig, and I will do a live-action with Jim Avignon for the first time since 1995.........

And we are planning to pop-up in public space as well!

We all have heard that: “Money is the Root of all Evil”. In fact, this phrase has its origins in the Bible, which says: “For the Love of Money is the Root of all Evil.” Somehow Love vanished with the passage of time. But what would happen if Love would return to the equation, and we would start asking ourselves: “What is the Root of All Money?” Wouldn’t Love be a great answer?!

We are involved in exchange each and every day in our society. But instead of loving our exchange and each other, we started loving the material means of exchange: Money.

And instead of using those Exchanges to make beautiful things happen around the world, we use them to earn more money. And we hoard that money, not backed by any tangible asset, created as debt by just a click of a button, on our bank accounts. Instead, we could use it to make the things we love happen, and the places and people we love thrive.

In the process of spending money, and buying things we think we need, we tend to forget that buying is actually an exchange, and not just a one-way transaction. We don’t just obtain something material, but we give something in return: money. Money does still have value as an agreement between people. Moreover it also has its energy, propelling its future use. And by giving money back with love to the people, and initiatives we love, and of whom we know that they use that same energy with love as well, we change the world.

Money can be a token of appreciation to that small corner store, which gives back so much to the neighborhood, to that cool coffee shop, where you always seem to make amazing connections, to the record store, which has those rare vinyl records and people behind the counter who love music.

So pay by adding some love to your payment. Not because of your love for money, but because of your love for the person you’re dealing with!

Some might argue that love should not be used as a currency, because Love is priceless. But shouldn’t we start appreciating more those values that can’t be quantified in our society?

That’s why the love banknote has no number: it’s not one Love, or one Hundred Love, it is just Love. Pure Love. Just as the exchange itself has no absolute value, also the value you give to this banknote is personal. And this value will be clear to all involved in the exchange, even though it is not explicitly quantified.

It might not be legal tender, but definitely is personal and loving tender for all exchanges private or public executed with love.

On the 17th of November the Exchanghibition Bank will pop up inside the Boijmans Museum in Rotterdam. Not only will you get the chance to exchange your money for our banknotes, but there will also be a round table discussion about our changing economy and society. The discussion will be in Dutch.

If you want to participate in the discussion you can send an email to designcolumn@boijmans.nl.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
Museumpark 18-20
3015 CX Rotterdam

tel.: 010 44.19.400

The Stedelijk Museum and PechaKucha Amsterdam proudly present a special edition of the PechaKucha Night on the museum of the future and more! The event will take place outside, under the canopy of the new museum building on the Museumplein, on Thursday 13 September. Entrance is *FREE*!

I am still a bit dusty and jetlagged but will give a talk about Art as Money, and the Transformoney Tree.

Hope to see some of you there ;-)

Just got back from an amazing adventure in the Nevada desert at the Burning Man Festival. After a lot of initial problems culminating in our truck breaking down a few miles north of Burning Man and the Transformoney Tree standing on a trailer alongside a gravel road, all eventually worked out.

We collected lots of banknotes, thoughts, and ideas on the Tree. Check out some of the pictures on the Art as Money website!

Now I need to make the transition back to Reality ;-)

Yours Bankingly, Dreamingly, and Paintingly

Dadara