Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.


Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.

Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.


Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.


Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.


Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.


Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.


Saemundur Thor Helgason, ‘Social Bank’, 2025,
photo credit: Nikola Lamburov.

Social Bank

de Appel Amsterdam 

2025

8, 9, 15 and 16 July at Dappermarkt, Amsterdam.

Social Bank* by artist Saemundur Thor Helgason is a functional proposition which imagines an alternative to profit-driven banks. Taking the form of a pop-up on Dappermarkt in east Amsterdam, the Social Bank offers interest-free loans to the market’s visitors. Passersby (aged 21+) can choose an amount of €50, €100, €150, or €200 to be repaid in 3 monthly instalments. As the borrower, you sign a contract, giving consent to a direct debit for monthly payments, issued by the Social Bank.

Donations from art organisations, companies and individuals fund the Social Bank. For its inauguration, the bank will be supported by de Appel in Amsterdam and presented at the de Appel Kiosk. The Bank will continue to exist and grow according to the donations it receives. The aim is to redistribute the wealth circulating in the art world, investing it directly in the dreams and needs of the people.

The loans are based entirely on mutual trust. There will be no negative consequences for late payments. Every euro repaid is recycled through the Social Bank, becoming an opportunity for someone else to borrow. The trust-based loans ask for a level of social responsibility from the borrower, while respecting the challenges of making ends meet in an increasingly precarious society.

The Social Bank is an exercise in imagining a future of socially responsible banks and how they could enrich people’s livelihoods. The artwork asks what role banks play and the purpose they serve in our societies. Can banks operate without profit? What happens when interests of banks lie elsewhere than in financial gain? As the Social Bank poses these questions it states the urgent need for alternatives to profit-driven banks.

*Pursuant to the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wet op het financieel toezicht), it is prohibited for anyone to use the word ‘bank’ or any translation or derivative thereof in their name or in the course of their business activities, unless they hold a license as a banking institution. SB foundation is not yet a Social Bank, but a financial service providing interest-free loans. Social Bank is an artwork by Saemundur Thor Helgason.

Board members of SB foundation:
Saemundur Thor Helgason (chair)
Brianna Leatherbury (secretary)
Taylor LeMelle (treasurer)


Sponsors:
de Appel Amsterdam
Mondriaan Fonds
Icelandic Art Center


Credits:
Financial advice: MDFinance / Sofia Patat
Legal advice: BINGH Advocaten
Notary: Meijer Notarissen B.V.
Proofreading: Hannah Salih
Graphic identity: Gabrial Markan / Saemundur Thor Helgason
Pamphlette layout: Oriol Cabarrocas
Production: Sophie Soobramanien / Maria Nolla

Special thanks:
Brianna Leatherbury
Taylor LeMelle
Lara Khaldi
Salim Bayri

www.s-b.fund