Thank you FOMA Magzine for the interview. It is always good to share how blockchain can be adopted. Art industry will definitely benefit from this technology.
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Art is part of our lives, we see them in all shapes and forms. Technology plays a similar part in our lives too, in every step we make.
I have travelled around the world meeting people and advocating blockchain technology since 2017. During this period, I have managed to convince governments, government-linked companies, schools and also traditional businesses to embark on the technology journey. Many of them are happy with the decision and especially during this COVID period, they have benefited more than before as the world has gone into the digital space and blockchain been the technology that enhances security plays a vital role.
In this article, I would like to share about the art industry and how digitalising their work will bring them more good than staying traditional.
What is art?
To me, art is an expression of human creative skills and imagination. It is typically in a form of painting, sculpture or music, literature or dance. Ultimately, it expresses the artist’s conceptual ideas, technical skills and creatively intended to be appealing to the senses and emotions.
How big is the art industry?
The global art market grew 6% in 2018 to $67.4 billion in sales, according to economist Clare McAndrew’s report “The Art Market 2019,” released by Art Basel and UBS on Friday. That total makes 2018 the second-biggest year for the art market in the past decade, trailing only 2014 when sales totaled $68.2 billion according to statistics obtained from Artsy.
Art on the secondary market is often sold at an auction house. The artwork will be made available to the public and anyone can observe the price and buy it. Many times, gallery owners also bid at the auction to control the market price and value. I believe that a combination of art and technology will help to increase transparency in the industry. Blockchain can play a big part in it.
Going virtual
In the current pandemic times, everyone is encouraged not to travel. I do see that art is going digital too. Rembrandt, Miro, Banksy fetch millions at Sotheby’s virtual art auction. This is their new live stream auction format featured many pieces of artwork spanning five centuries of art history. This event attracted bidders from all over the world and managed by auction house’s staff from New York, London and Hong Office offices. Technology enables the sale. Good art waits for no man, be it virtual or physical.
What is the future for art?
As we move a step ahead on art and technology. I want to share a few things.
- NFT Collectibles Art
NFT stands for non-fungible tokens. Tokens are not mutually interchangeable and each token is different, as opposed to regular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Litecoin that are fungible. These characteristics make NFT tokens perfect for verifying the ownership of unique digital items, like crypto collectables and digital art.
- Blockchain Tracking and Tracing + Authenticity
As mentioned, tokens can able verifications of digital collectables. It can also track, trace and even verify physical artwork as well through the use of blockchain technology, which is the underlying technology that supports tokens and cryptocurrencies. The ability to authenticate the artwork on the spot through the records that are captured on the blockchain can give buyers confidence in the transaction and may also increase the value of the artwork as everything about the artwork from maintenance records to where they were kept were all made available.
- Global Marketplace+
Right now we are in a global market for art trading and auctions, managed by leading auction houses. I hope in time to come, a decentralised marketplace on blockchain and cryptocurrencies can recreate into a marketplace+ and go onto the mainstream art world. There will be no middlemen, artwork can be verified immediately on chain and transacted directly using cryptocurrencies. Artwork can be sold in any parts of the world in a more trusted environment. This would be the ideal scenario.
“In code, we trust art.
Heading global with blockchain.”
About FOMA Magzine
FOMA (Fear Of Missing Art) is an international mag for immutable culture. We feature artist profiles, discussions & insights into the crypto-art movement.
Anndy Lian is an early blockchain adopter and experienced serial entrepreneur who is known for his work in the government sector. He is a best selling book author- “NFT: From Zero to Hero” and “Blockchain Revolution 2030”.
Currently, he is appointed as the Chief Digital Advisor at Mongolia Productivity Organization, championing national digitization. Prior to his current appointments, he was the Chairman of BigONE Exchange, a global top 30 ranked crypto spot exchange and was also the Advisory Board Member for Hyundai DAC, the blockchain arm of South Korea’s largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Group. Lian played a pivotal role as the Blockchain Advisor for Asian Productivity Organisation (APO), an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region.
An avid supporter of incubating start-ups, Anndy has also been a private investor for the past eight years. With a growth investment mindset, Anndy strategically demonstrates this in the companies he chooses to be involved with. He believes that what he is doing through blockchain technology currently will revolutionise and redefine traditional businesses. He also believes that the blockchain industry has to be “redecentralised”.
