Art as Money: Dadara at TEDxBlackRockCity

Even though almost everybody in this world uses money every single day, very few people think about what money is, how it works, and how it maybe might work in a different way. How it could be redefined or even changed.
Isn't money after all just a tool?

Our current form of Money, detached from any tangible asset and only backed by our trust, has seemingly taken on the role of an omnipresent Philosopher's Stone, magically turning any quality of life into a measurable quantity of bigger or smaller heaps of cash, or rather digits on our computer screen. But not all values and qualities can be converted that easily into a pile of banknotes. After all, isn't what we really value in life 'priceless'?

In times when governments don't want to spend money on art anymore, but spend billions on bailing out banks, Amsterdam artist Dadara started his own bank -- the Exchanghibition Bank -- which issues banknotes of Zero, Million, and Infinite. The bank has popped up in the main hall of Amsterdam Central Station, The Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum, Occupy, cultural venues, as well as shopping centers, and also performed at Burning Man in the Nevada desert, where customers could get a Zero note in return for filling out a Spiritual Karma Laundering Contract.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)