Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may have fizzled around the world after an initial boom – NFT sales volume fell 83% in 2022, according to NFT sector tracker NonFungible – but in Dubai the market is flourishing. Most of the 24 exhibitors participating in Art Dubai Digital this year, the only section of its kind at a major art fair, will showcase NFTs and other “cutting-edge trends in digital art,” from artificial intelligence to extended reality, through installations immersive and robotic art, say the section’s curators, Auronda Scalera and Alfredo Cramerotti.

“Art Dubai Digital is the only enduring fair-based digital art platform,” says Anna Seaman, curator at Morrow Collective, which describes itself as a “blockchain fine art curatorship” based in Dubai. “It was founded in 2022 at the height of the so-called NFT boom, but has been dedicated to supporting digital art, inside and outside [the block]chain and has become a global benchmark for the establishment of digital art as an important sector of the art space.”

The company is participating in Art Dubai Digital for the third time, showcasing work from artists who engaged with blockchain as early as 2013. Featured artists include Jonathan Monaghan, whose work Mothership was the first piece minted in the beta version of Ascribe, a protocol now defunct that was built on the Bitcoin chain.

“We also have a metaverse museum that will take viewers through the history of [past] decade and exhibit new work by artists who were fundamental at that time,” says Seaman. “All works will be available for collection, but prices are still under discussion due to volatility in crypto markets.” Most of the works will be sold as NFTs, she adds. “NFTs are a medium, a technology that allows digital art to be traded transparently and on-chain. There is certainly a market for digital art to be bought and sold in this way.”

Not surprisingly, Seaman is keeping faith in NFTs after they fell out of favor following a boom in 2021 and “everyone was saying NFTs were dead.” “What really happened was people started to differentiate between content and NFTs,” she says. “An NFT is just a code that gives authenticity to a digital file and records it on the digital ledger of a blockchain. It’s the content that has value, not the technology.”

Other participants at the fair include TAEX, a London-based digital art platform presenting a new series of interactive websites from internet artist Angelo Plessas. “We are displaying 12 interactive websites as NFTs: three original websites and nine variations,” says Stefanie De Regel, head of development at TAEX. “Each site is a unique window into Angelo’s world, filled with symbolism and sacred characters, which animate and play music with every click.”

De Regel explains that “blockchain is global, meaning the market for NFTs is everywhere [local law permitting]. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum [the ruler of Dubai]The UAE government and people understood the potential of blockchain very quickly and very early, and have been promoting the growth of web3, including NFTs in the Middle East.”

Curators Scalera and Cramerotti state that “there is a notable collector base of digital art in the region, demonstrating a great appreciation for this dynamic form… [there is] an established technology hub made up of thousands of technology start-ups, programs and services and also an ‘organic pipeline’ of digital art talent and professionals who have moved to the region to produce and sell and establish their career.”

37xDubai, a first-time participant at the fair, is taking advantage of the city’s technological wave. The gallery, opened last October, is part of Morningstar Ventures, an investment company specializing in digital assets. “37xDubai was created to become the creative and digital art arm of Morningstar,” says Clémence Cazeau, director of 37xDubai, who adds that “Dubai is a place that embraces innovation, with a young, technology-savvy population.” 37xDubai displays digital and physical works by Ivona Tau and Marcel Schwittlick (prices available upon request). “Digital works of art are directly linked to the blockchain and are therefore considered NFTs,” adds Cazeau.

Art Dubai will be an opportunity to take the temperature of the volatile NFT market. “It has become a territory for experiments in quality rather than quantity. Many platforms are taking advantage of the crypto winter [a downturn in the value of crypto currencies] to build a meaningful digital marketplace and fully explore the possibilities, whether with blockchain, AI or immersive technologies,” says TAEX’s De Regel.

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