Dubai: The Dubai ArtBank, the world’s first digital bank for art, has established the emirate as a technology pioneer in the global creative economy.
The art bank was launched by the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) during the 12 edition of Art Dubai held in March.
Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-Chairman of Dubai Culture, said the art bank reinforces Dubai’s growing role as a global art hub.
The ArtBank introduces an innovative new model for managing art collections and transacting in creativity and art as bankable assets through a new Dubai Art Cryptocurrency. It will enable art collections to be managed using cryptocurrency instead of cash, which will also facilitate higher returns for creative assets.
“Dubai’s leadership firmly believes that art and creativity can make key contributions to enhancing the happiness of society and encouraging a culture of innovation,” said Shaikha Latifa.
The initiative is Dubai Culture’s response to the ‘Dubai 10X’ initiative, which seeks to implement today what other cities around the world will be implementing 10 years from now.
“This is yet another example of Dubai taking the lead in adopting advanced technologies to enhance excellence in various spheres of life. I am confident that the initiative will help integrate the art industry more closely into the digital world and inspire the growth of a thriving creative ecosystem based out of Dubai,” said Shaikha Latifa.
She pointed out that initiative forms part of the Dubai Culture’s strategic objective of exploring technological solutions to address the needs of artists and the broader creative community.
The rapid growth and vibrancy of Dubai’s art community encouraged Dubai Culture to launch a platform that enables art content to be shared. Through the initiative, it also seeks to create a focal point for various players in the art ecosystem to connect with each other and explore opportunities for collaboration.
