When Erik Culver graduated with a BFA from The University of Texas at Austin in 2008, he went home with hundreds of photographs, paintings, drawings, and prints and almost all of it went into storage. Ten years later, while his own art is still collecting dust, he’s helping students find better homes for their work through a platform he wished had existed when he was in their shoes.
Culver and his co-founder, Alok Marwaha, launched ArtStartArt to sell student artwork through monthly flash sales that began in May after an initial pilot sale last year. So far, they’ve worked with 15 schools, 13 of which are in Texas, and they’ve facilitated the sale of about 100 pieces, which have made their way to cities all over the United States, from San Diego to New York City.