Maybe you’ve noticed decommissioned cigarette machines selling pocket-sized art in restaurants, breweries, businesses, and museums around town. The idea was born in Winston-Salem. Today, 200 ArT-o-MaT® machines around the world sell small pieces that elevate and support artists.
How it started
Clark Whittington created the first ArT-o-MaT in 1997 to sell his black-and-white photographs in an art installation at a local coffee shop. The business owner loved the vending machine so much she refused to part with it when the exhibit was over. She introduced Whittington to other artists and the idea took off.
“Once we started inviting artists to be involved and their friends found out about it, it became something about achieving the goal of getting art into people’s hands,” Whittington told City Editor Cambridge.
How it’s going
Fast forward 26 years and ArT-o-MaTs can be found at places like Mojito Latin Soul Food and Earl’s in the Twin City — and as far away as Australia. There’s even one in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Each and every ArT-o-MaT piece sold costs $5, of which the artist makes half. The business still approves every artist that sells work in the machines. They are responsible for creating the pieces — ArT-o-MaT takes care of distributing it to businesses. Whittington says beyond earning a small commission for each piece sold, many artists use the arrangement as a form of advertising.
“We’re having artists make stuff that would represent their larger work. It gets their name and their art out to places that they would never get to otherwise,” Whittington said. “We always have artists put information either on or in the box of art to be able to have the buyers contact them.... That way artists can get bigger commission work for their regular-sized art.”
Art for everyone
Collectively, ArT-o-MaT machines sell about 100,000 pieces a year. Whittington says the company is always looking for artists to keep the machines stocked. He hopes people continue to take heart in art that fits in the palm of their hand.
“It can be just something fresh that’s not from a big box store, or just something that makes you happy,” Whittington said. “How it comes to life after that is all within the person viewing it.”
