For Nigerian artists, auctioneers, collectors set up health insurance scheme

As more Nigerian artists are becoming victims of inadequate or lack of proper health care plans, four art patrons have just set up a scheme known as Artists Health Management Insurance. It's a scheme designed to give artists financial support in healthcare. 

Few days ago, Kavita Chellaram who is the founder of Nigeria's numeo uno auction house, Arthouse Contemporary, states that the scheme “became necessary with recurring cases of artists seeking financial help to take care of their health challenges”.  Arthouse had, recently, also used one of its auctions to raise fund for an artist, David Dale who suffered partial stroke last year.

Tole Aliki's Village Square is one of the four charity lots for  Oyerinde Olotu

The health insurance scheme is the initiative of Arthouse Contemporary, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, Nike Davies-Okundaye and Bolanle Austen-Peters of Terra Kulture. "The secretary of the Artists Health Management Insurance is Olu Amoda”.

Chellaram discloses,

  Parts of the process include artists' voluntary remittance of percentage from auction or gallery sales of their work to the pool to be generated by the scheme. Chellaram adds that the scheme would have a management team to be headed by an accountant.

Meanwhile, the eleventh auction of Arthouse Contemporary          

opening with previews from Saturday till Sunday, with the sale on Monday, November 18, 2013 at The Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos, has four charity lots in supports of artist, Oyerinde Olotu's health challenge.