A Wealth of Creations: A Catalogue of an Exceptional Exhibition

Abstract

'A Wealth of Creations' was an exceptional exhibition that showed work of economists that are also (semi) professional artists, including Hans Abbing, Rosella Bargiachi, William Baumol, Peeter Burgeik, Mark Eyskens, Gerrit faber, Erik Klossterhuis, Jan Pen, Winand Starring and Roefie Huetink. In A Wealth of Creations no less than nine economists from Belgium, Italy, The Netherlands and the United States showed their artistic work to the public in what is the first time that an international exhibition of economist-artists on this scale took place. The artists in this exhibition as a group (and often individually) master the relevant disciplines in modern economics: micro, macro, international economics,development economics, political economy and even sociology and history of thought. Indeed, the class of 'A Wealth of Creations' is an exceptional breed including six PhDs, four (part-time) professors and a former Minister of Economic Affairs. In a sense this should not come as a surprise, because the artistic way clearly adds value: thinking out of the box, relying on your intuition and curiosity form the fertile breeding ground for both economic science and policy. The catalogues provides an introduction by Peter A.G. van Bergeijk and Gerrit Faber that gives an overview of the work and motivation of the artist-economist. Further more short bio's and 4-pagers on the link beteen economics and art are provided by each artist.

Keywords: economics and art