Airtasker's Tim Fung backs art marketplace Book An Artist in $1 million raise

Melbourne-based artist marketplace Book An Artist has raised $1 million to support its global ambitions.

The round was led by Black Sheep Capital, supported by tech heavyweights such as Airtasker co-founder Tim Fung and Amaysim co-founder Rolf Hansen.

Founder Gaurav Kawar launched Book An Artist in 2019 as a platform to connect businesses and people with local visual artists around the world.

His ambition is to revolutionise the way art is consumed and commissioned.

“There was a noticeable gap between talented artists and a consistent flow of job opportunities. Capturing the opportunity,” he said.

“If you think about it, when we need to look for holiday properties, there is Airbnb, when we need food or a taxi, there is Uber, when we are looking for someone to help with chores, there is Airtasker.

“But when we are looking for an artist, there is nothing that is helping us find someone amazing who is available and provide a safe way for us to book the artist. That is until now.”

So he designed Book An Artist to connect local artists with projects and make hiring an artist easier.

Kawar’s platform is now operating in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and recently launched in Singapore. He’s now looking to expand into new markets, art categories and increase the size of the team.

Artists using the marketplace have worked for international brands alongside homeowners, restaurateurs, and interior designers, generating more than $2.5 million in total revenue, which grew by 350% in 12 months.

Kawar said artist sign ups also have grown by more than 400% with interest from across the world. Book An Artist also recently released a mobile app, so artists can communicate with clients and win jobs on the go.

Black Sheep Capital’s Dan Gavel said Kawar and his team have done a great job overcoming many of the early challenges around building a marketplace platform .

“They are global, can consistently grow transaction volume and have a robust platform that can service both supply and demand on the platform,” he said.

“They have a range of new developments coming we can’t wait to see where Gaurav and Book an Artist go from here”