The View from the Office. 

I met up with Angela Chatzidimitriou, the CEO of the startup Art House at an event for founders in Chelsea that was sponsored by Crush It Ventures and Urban Iron. 

A mutual friend, May Do, helped organize the Builders & Backers event, which consisted of an intense three-hour workout starting at 9 a.m. on Sunday. It was followed by a two hour happy hour. I was advised by May to skip the workout and come to drinks, which turned out to be wise. 

The best way to understand Art House is as Rent the Runway for Art. Angela and her co-founder realized the traditional art market keeps a lot of great pieces locked away in storage units or stuck on gallery walls. High upfront price tags prevent most people from living with real art before they buy it, creating financial barriers that limit who can collect. 

The solution seemed simple: create a platform where she can match artists with collectors ranging from individuals to organizations that rent pieces. It provides the flexibility to experience the art and provides an opportunity to purchase it later. 

You can check out the web site to see examples such as a painting by Daniel Dugan is an American-Cuban artist who lives and works between Los Angeles and Miami that is listed for purchase at $18,000 or $350 a month to rent. 

She is focusing on both corporate markets (B2B) and individuals (B2C). She said she plans to raise funds to invest in the platform and marketing. 

One of the things you notice visiting companies or large offices is most of them have art on the walls which must both cost a fortune and be a challenge to curate. Art House could help there and also let them rotate the art more often. 

Angela argues that one of the benefits of Art House is that companies or organizations can get help selecting works and a benefit from a more favorable tax treatment, since a rental can be expensed it is more advantageous than a purchase. 

Angela came to the art world by way of a series of corporate jobs focused on public policy, international politics, and corporate communications. She started in public affairs, working on women’s rights at the United Nations and lobbying in European politics, where she worked on the antitrust case against Google. 

She moved to Hewlett Packard Enterprise, where she served as Global Communications Manager for their cloud division. HPE later named her Global Lead for Customer Advocacy, a role where she created their customer advocacy program, launched the “Your Voice Matters” feedback system, and ran an Advisory Council for key clients. 

You can connect with her on LinkedIn or DM me for a warm intro.