Seth Aylmer, Jose Serrano Reyes and Joan Tom.

Trust Art was introduced at TED2009 as an ‘intriguing new business’ – a stock market for art. Few months later, we are witnessing the first breaths of a new social media experiment based on the following premise: Can financial and social capital elevate art projects that are designed to elevate society?

Over the course of this year, Trust Art will commission ten public artworks steeped in social, environmental, cultural, and economic value and created by emerging artists – and anyone & everyone who cares about cultural renewal is welcome to participate. “The gallery model is open to only a small number of people – we want to open up the patronage of the arts to anyone who has $1 and an internet connection,” said Jose Serrano Reyes, co-founder and curator, who’s been studying (and banking on) the obsession of ranking for quite a while now, as over 300K people are actively checking their other online property, FameGame.com, every month.

Since the launch of the initial prototype, key partnerships with organizations like the Open Space Alliance and the NYC Parks Department have been secured.

The concept’s got strong legs. For instance, filmmaker Josh Powell will produce a series of viral videos and commercials for Columbia University’s Bamboo Bike Project to introduce the bamboo bike not only to people in the USA but also a global audience around the world.

“Riding on plants is cool” – Josh mentions in his project proposal. It’s also a concrete step towards a better future.

Josh Powell – Bamboo guru

The experiment officially launched last night at Norwood and all guests automatically became investors as the price of the ticket -$101, was distributed equally between the ten projects.

Anyone can now log on to TrustArt.org and become shareholders for only a dollar. Shareholders can increase the value of their investment by sharing to their network & creating bonding capital. The fictional currency can be tracked online at anytime, but the shares won’t be converted back to money until the end of the experiment, when the artworks produced will be sold at a public auction.

Check out Trust Art on Fame Game and show them some #followfriday love this week on Twitter.com/TrustArt.