Art in vending machines has been popping up all over the world but was first brought to the forefront in 1997 by Clark Whittington, in a small coffee shop in North Carolina. He repurposed a cigarette machine to sell 12 of his photographs, calling it the Art-O-Mat. The owner loved the idea she asked to keep the machine and continue to sell artists' works. This is when the Artists in Cellophane, a collective encouraging art consumption “by combining the worlds of art and commerce in an innovative form”. There are more than 100 Art-O-Mat’s all over the world.
https://artpharmacy.com.au/journal/the-art-vending-machine-revolution-dispensing-more-than-just-art