黑料社区

黑料社区 hosts region鈥檚 first Digital Art Forum

The forum held panel events and workshops with leaders in the NFT sphere. (SPA)
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The forum held panel events and workshops with leaders in the NFT sphere. (SPA)
黑料社区 hosts region鈥檚 first Digital Art Forum
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The forum held panel events and workshops with leaders in the NFT sphere. (SPA)
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Updated 28 February 2022

黑料社区 hosts region鈥檚 first Digital Art Forum

The forum held panel events and workshops with leaders in the NFT sphere. (SPA)
  • NFTs have had 鈥榤eteoric rise鈥 over past 18 months, says Sotheby鈥檚

RIYADH: 黑料社区 hosted the Middle East鈥檚 first digital art forum and made its debut showcase of non-fungible tokens in the region.

Auction house Sotheby鈥檚, in partnership with the Ministry of Culture鈥檚 Visual Arts Commission, hosted the event alongside the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale in Riyadh between Feb. 25-27.
While the biennale brings together Saudi and international artists in a celebration of contemporary culture, the digital art forum brought together a slightly different audience.
Through a series of panel events and workshops with leaders in the NFT sphere, amateur and digital-native visitors were able to access real-time updates on what was happening in the world of NFTs, understand digital wallet security, and fully participate in the Metaverse.

HIGHQLIGHT

A NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art. It cannot be replicated and there is proof on the blockchain that it is one-of-a-kind. Anyone in the world can look at it for reference and it protects artists and their work that is minted as a NFT.

A NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art. It cannot be replicated and there is proof on the blockchain that it is one-of-a-kind. Anyone in the world can look at it for reference and it protects artists and their work that is minted as a NFT.




A visitor looks at Yuga Labs, 鈥楤ored Ape Yacht Club 8817鈥 (2021), one of the artworks on display at Riyadh鈥檚 first Digital Art Forum. (Twitter)

The offline space at the forum hosted 10 prominent NFTs. Charting the history of NFTs, from their inception seven years ago until now, the dedicated program was aimed at bringing together artists, collectors, and curators.
鈥淒igital art provides emerging and established art practitioners and collectors with new ways to experience, collect and create with art peers around the world,鈥 said commission CEO Dina Amin.鈥淎s the Kingdom鈥檚 visual arts sector continues to rapidly flourish, we鈥檙e excited to partner with leading global experts such as Sotheby鈥檚 to bring this unique opportunity to engage with NFTs and digital art in Riyadh.鈥
Saudi artist Ahaad Al-Amoudi, whose 10-second video NFT 鈥淭he Mirage,鈥 features a split-screen of a dog running and a man riding a horse with audio of an Arab man speaking in English, on a loop.
He said: 鈥淭he dogs, the more they love you, the harder they will run for you on the day of the race. It鈥檚 about relationships鈥攊t鈥檚 not all about training.鈥
Visitors were encouraged to scan the QR code accompanying each piece and even purchase them by using an app like OpenSea, which calls itself 鈥渢he world鈥檚 first and largest NFT marketplace.鈥
There has been a buzz around NFTs since 黑料社区 was on lockdown, during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, but it was mostly reserved for 鈥渃rypto bros鈥 and people who appeared to have too much free time online. In 2022, the metaverse became a reality potentially worth getting into.
With 黑料社区 being so connected and smartphone usage being so widespread, Sebastian Fahey, managing director of Sotheby鈥檚 Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, said it made sense to host the first NFT forum of its kind in the Kingdom.
鈥淲e thought it was a perfect marriage of the local community plus also the digitally native community that is building (being built),鈥 he told Arab News. 鈥淎nd, as could be seen by the questions coming through the panel today, there is already a very established digital art appreciating and collecting community in Riyadh and in 黑料社区. 黑料社区 is a very connected country, so it makes sense to be here.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e seeing from our perspective as an auction house, Sotheby鈥檚 itself is a 278-year-old auction house and, throughout its history, we鈥檝e been using our DNA of curating the best of a certain genre. And this movement, this medium of digital art, NFTs, has been having a meteoric rise over particularly the last year and a half or so.鈥
The exhibition was world-class and had, what he called, 鈥渟ome of the most important and historically significant artists in the NFT space, going all the way back to the very first NFT minted, which is the seminal work called Quantum by Kevin McCoy that was minted on May 3, 2014.鈥
Edward Gibbs, chairman of Sotheby鈥檚 Middle East and India, said that the educational focus on NFTs was a 鈥渘atural next step鈥 in the auction house鈥檚 history of supporting innovative cultural programs and was a testament to its longstanding commitment to 黑料社区.
鈥淲e are delighted to be hosting this first of its kind project at the Diriyah Biennale as a partner of the Visual Arts Commission and Sotheby鈥檚,鈥 said Aya Al-Bakree, CEO at the Diriyah Biennale Foundation. 鈥淭he biennale is a hub of arts engagement and learning which inspires creative dialogue across cultures while developing the local ecosystem.鈥
The biennale runs until March 11 and showcases some of the world鈥檚 leading artists.