The company looks to democratize art and help more creatives become career artists than ever before.
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Bluethumb – Australia's largest online art marketplace – announces its expansion into the United States as it creates a new, competitive offering for artists to connect with art buyers directly. Bluethumb's reputation for being an artist-first platform will expand stateside with its focus on original artwork at wide-ranging price points into one of the world's premiere art markets.
Founded in 2012, Bluethumb cemented itself as an art world disruptor in the reputable Melbourne market. Often plagued by high price points and a daunting buying environment, Bluethumb was created to give anyone from a novice to an established curator a place to find original works in a more accessible way. The company is now home to over 20,000 emerging and established artists and is proudly known as the largest online art marketplace for indigenous art. This passion for providing a platform for artists to make a living as creative will guide the company as it develops relationships with American artists, ensuring diversity in representation as well as fair and equitable remuneration.
"We want to be a destination for culturally relevant artists and those who love them to access and support their work," said George Hartley, co-founder of Bluethumb. "We exist to help artists grow their careers, quit jobs and sell more art. With that ethos, we're very proud of what we've been able to accomplish in an art-centric market like Australia and are excited to be able to open up our doors in the US – an epicenter of original artists and a beacon of culture. We have been steadily growing our customer base here for many years and anticipate an appetite for artists seeking new opportunities to launch and/or grow their careers."
Distinctive offerings to artists who list on Bluethumb will include an industry-competitive 30% commission rate – indigenous artists and art centers are subject to a lower 20% rate – and supportive marketing, financial and logistics services for a turnkey artist-to-consumer experience. To establish a positive transaction between artists and customers, Bluethumb guarantees a one to two-week average period between purchase and doorstep delivery, plus free deliveries and returns worldwide.
The artist and customer are unwaveringly at the core of Bluethumb's operations. Despite economic and cultural shifts in recent years, American consumers– from older populations to Gen Z – continue to prioritize experiential purchases, including ways to customize their homes. Fueled by visual-driven social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, which flood Millennials and Gen Z with aspirational environs, Bluethumb aims to satiate consumers with original, one-of-a-kind works of art at affordable prices. Moreover, Bluethumb ensures that it answers the call of our increasingly multicultural society desiring to support diverse artists by establishing an online marketplace platform to do so.
"At Bluethumb, we are art lovers at the core of it all and believe that anybody and anyone can be a patron of the arts and shouldn't feel excluded because of cost or perceived taste barriers," said Hartley. "This is why we have focused on providing a significant amount of accessibly priced beautiful and original art in our marketplace that we feel is just as important as more exclusive offerings, which are also available for purchase."
As it swiftly embarks on its US journey, Bluethumb is prioritizing onboarding artists across the country who represent both consumer art interests and American culture, including some of the top names in the country such as Tina Psoinos, Linda O'Neill, Caity Salamanca, Courtney Murphy and many more.
To learn more about Bluethumb, list as an artist, or purchase your next piece of art, please visit: www.bluethumbart.com
About Bluethumb: Founded in 2012, Bluethumb represents over 20,000 emerging and established artists from Australia with 20 of Australia's most remote Aboriginal Art Centres to give customers access to more diverse artistry. Bluethumb has sold over 90,000 original Australian artworks to everyone; from first-time art buyers to established collectors and Australia's finest architecture firms. In 2023, Bluethumb launched in the United States providing artists with a pathway to profitability and consumers with a platform for original works of art from diverse artists across the country.
SOURCE Bluethumb
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