A fine art rental subscription company called Curina has launched a COVID-19 benefit project promising to donate 100% of its sale commission to delivering protective equipment to healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
The company was founded by Mio Asatani and based in the Columbia University incubator. Curina partners with independent Brooklyn artists and galleries to offer their works for rental and rent-to-own. Their mission is to help “make the art ownership transparent and successful,” according to its website. It is a female-owned business and one of its main prerogatives is to bring artwork into people’s homes, not simply for display in galleries and museums.
Asatani told Bushwick Daily, “The artists and the Curina team believe in the power of art to inspire, to heal, and to empower the audience: and people need art and artists more than ever. “Through this project, we aim to support both the healthcare community and the artist community with our share of the sale being donated to Masks for Docs.” She said that after the launch there were an influx of inquiries from New York’s artists looking to sell their works and contribute to the community at-large.
In their first week, Asatani said that they almost sold out because “art lovers want to support and enjoy artworks while they stay at home.”
All the proceeds of their initiative will go to Masks for Doc, a coalition of volunteers from the tech, business, and design industries who are working to deliver protective supplies to the healthcare workers on the frontlines. They have local chapters around the United States, and in Mexico, Colombia, and Canada where people can donate and request supplies, and volunteer to help the effort to fight coronavirus.
Cover photo from the Congresswoman’s IG Page
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