About Steven Minnaar
I create and collect art you can trade.
I am an independent artist and collector based in Dana Point, California, and the founder of Minnaar Money — Art You Can Trade.
My work explores individual sovereignty, peaceful voluntary exchange, and the idea that art can participate directly in everyday life.
I create original paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, and conceptual works. I also discover and collect works by other artists, Readymades, found objects, and other things that capture my artistic interest.
Together, these works become part of an expanding artistic collection known as Minnaar Money.
The Minnaar Touch — The Art of Designation
I regard Minnaar Money itself as an ongoing work of conceptual art.
Through my own artistic judgment, I may select virtually anything—something I have created, a work by another artist, a found object, or something entirely ordinary—and declare it Minnaar Money.
This act of selection and designation gives the object an additional identity as artwork that can be collected, gifted, saved, and traded.
The object need not be physically altered or signed. Its identity is established through artistic designation, documentation, assignment of Sovereign Value, and permanent registration in the Minnaar Catalogue.
When I select an artwork created by someone else, its original authorship remains intact. My artistic contribution is the act of selection, designation, valuation, and incorporation into the larger Minnaar Money collection.
Anything may become Minnaar Money.
Sovereign Value — Art You Can Trade
Every registered Minnaar carries a Sovereign Value (SV) established through my artistic judgment and formally recorded in the Minnaar Catalogue.
Through Traditional Fine Art Portrait Commissions in Charcoal, I also invite patrons to participate directly in this act of valuation. A commissioning patron may declare a Sovereign Value of 3 SV or higher and contribute the corresponding amount in silver, or propose another mutually acceptable trade. Upon my acceptance, the declared value becomes the portrait's registered exchange value within the Minnaar Treasury.
The reference unit is 1 SV = 1 troy ounce of silver, but Sovereign Value is an artistic exchange commitment, not a guarantee of conventional market value or redemption in cash or silver.
Registered Minnaars may be exchanged for other eligible works of equal total Sovereign Value or combined toward works of greater value, according to the established exchange rules.
The Minnaar Catalogue maintains the permanent record of these works, their identities, assigned values, and documented exchanges.
A Growing Artistic Community
Minnaar Money extends beyond my own artistic creations.
Through Guest Artist Selections, I invite fellow artists to submit works for possible inclusion in the Minnaar Catalogue. For each accepted artwork they choose to exchange, artists contribute their work and one troy ounce of silver, and receive any two distinct, available 1 SV Minnaar Money artworks of their choice—including two works originally created by other Guest Artists if they wish. Every work retains its original creator's attribution, while these exchanges help bring more art into circulation.
The Minnaar Trading Post extends the practice of voluntary exchange beyond art, offering everyone a free marketplace to trade art, goods, services, and experiences.
And through our weekly Minnaar Money Meetups in Dana Point, I bring artists, collectors, patrons, and traders together to discover art, share ideas, and explore opportunities for exchange.
Art and Sovereign Individualism
At the heart of my work is a belief in the sovereignty of the individual.
I regard art as a powerful means of expressing the principles of individual liberty, self-government, personal responsibility, and peaceful voluntary exchange.
Minnaar Money is both an artistic creation and a practical expression of these ideas. Through the freedom to create, collect, assign value, and voluntarily exchange art, I seek to demonstrate these principles in everyday life.
For those who appreciate this philosophy and wish to support its advancement, I established the Sovereign Circle Patron Program.
Patrons support my continuing independent artistic work through voluntary monthly commitments while receiving Minnaar Money to collect, enjoy, and exchange.
The art is the medium. Beauty is the language. The philosophy is the message.
Explore Sovereign Circle Patronage →
Explore Minnaar Money
There are many ways to participate.
Explore the Minnaar Catalogue, Build a Minnaar Treasury, or commission an original charcoal portrait, a Living Sovereign linocut, or a Secret Minnaar miniature watercolor through Portrait Commissions.
You may also help bring new artwork into circulation by Sponsoring a Limited Edition.
For those who wish to explore the ideas underlying my work, I invite you to read The Declaration.
The art is the medium. Beauty is the language. The philosophy is the message.
Steven Minnaar
Minnaar Money — Art You Can Trade