Kickstarter raises more than US Government funding
US crowdfunding platform Kickstarter funds more arts projects than the federal government, but in America, where philanthropy has always been the backbone of arts funding, that’s not surprising, says Katherine Boyle.
During a session at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen Institute president Walter Isaacson asked Perry Chen, founder of Kickstarter, whether it was true that Kickstarter now funds more arts-related projects than the National Endowment for the Arts.
The crowdfunding site has, Chen told Isaacson, funded over $600 million in arts projects. “And,” said Isaacson, “that might be now more than the federal government spent on the arts in a given year?” adding a bit later that “in some ways… you’ve invented something that does what the NEA used to do and can’t quite do now.”
During a session at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen Institute president Walter Isaacson asked Perry Chen, founder of Kickstarter, whether it was true that Kickstarter now funds more arts-related projects than the National Endowment for the Arts.
The crowdfunding site has, Chen told Isaacson, funded over $600 million in arts projects. “And,” said Isaacson, “that might be now more than the federal government spent on the arts in a given year?” adding a bit later that “in some ways… you’ve invented something that does what the NEA used to do and can’t quite do now.”