While other industries, such as music and publishing, are fundamentally changed by digitization, the art market, based on trust and expertise, continues to resist digital disruption. "Will digital technology make the art market more open?", asked the New York Times half a year ago. The answer has not yet been forthcoming.
Despite the high-flying plans of countless start-ups, the real feasible ones are only starting to become visible. 2018 was all about Blockchain; since the beginning of 2019, however, a new skepticism has been spreading: Is this technology mature enough to assume the central role it is intended to play in the art market?
But Blockchain is not the only trend that points to the digital future of the art market. Virtual galleries, online auctions, high-resolution digital presentation systems, or serviceable algorithms that suggest works to collectors: All of these paths are accessible today. But which one of them leads into the future?
To clear the fog, the Kunstforum Zürich, in collaboration with the Art Market Studies of the University of Zurich, has invited experts who can assess the situation from their field of activity. Among them: LA-based dealer and collector Stefan Simchowitz, Chief Technology Officer of Artsy, Daniel Doubrovkine from New York, the founder and inventor of a Swiss startup Artmyn Alexander Catsikas, the Indian artist Aparna Rao (Por & Rao) working with interactive robotics, or the Blockchain pioneer Antoine Verdon, who’s company Blockfactory is addressing issues of decentralization, tokenization or certification since 2012. Program
5 pm: Welcome and Introduction, Ewa Hess, Kunstforum Zürich
5.10 pm: Stefan Simchowitz, Art dealer, collector and adviser
Live from Los Angeles
5.30 pm: Daniel Doubrovkine, Software Ingenieur, Open source activist
CTO, Artsy
5.50 pm: Aparna Rao, artist (Pors & Rao), project leader PATHOS
6.10 pm: Panel Discussion
6.10 - 6.20 pm: Short presentations of Alexandre Catsicas (Artmyn) and Antoine Verdon (blockfactory.com). Moderator: Nicolas Galley, director of studies, Art Market Studies (University of Zurich)
7pm: Questions 19:30 Drinks – Come together
The event is free of charge