The company was born during the pandemic when the group of lawyers, artists, and economists that later founded the firm saw the potential for a holistic digital art solution. United by their love for the area, the V-Art team graduated from EO business incubator, took in-depth interviews, gathered the brightest minds around it and conducted extensive market research – all to build a solution that would bolster the sustainable growth of the digital art community. 

What was the challenge?

The predominantly legal background of its top management has meant that V-Art was built to enable maximum transparency from the beginning. Experienced in working with intellectual property in creative industries Anastasiia Gliebova, CEO, and Olga Simson, CSO, recognized the need to build a complete ownership package for digital artworks of which the nascent Blockchain mechanism would only be one part. “In a rapidly growing market, there are a number of risks artists and collectors can be exposed to – it is our job to mitigate them as much as possible and be as upfront with our customers as we can be,” says Anastasiia. Combined, pre-moderation to filter fraud, e-certification to bolster security, a system of licensing for transparency and commercial flexibility, and of course the blockchain form the unique NFT+ solution. 

What is the solution?

Passionate about digital art, the team has a distinct vision: “Art is an experience as much as it is a product. It is not meant for traditional e-commerce on Amazon or eBay look-alikes”, says Olga. Bringing the experiential and social aspects of the art world into a virtual format is a challenge to overcome, which the team has made central to its operation. V-Art seeks to really imbue its ‘Platform’ title – to reconcile the cultural and commercial by enabling its users to showcase and experience digital art as well as to transact.  One project that shows the immersive capability of the firm’s virtual exhibitions is the Art Spaceship, This virtual residency reached more than 2.2 million people and received over 350 applications from 51 countries. Today, anyone can visit the show through the firm’s website or app, read more about the diverse artworks that populate the spaceship walls, and chat with other visitors in real-time. 

The NFT art boom heralded by the astonishing sales of artworks such as the “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” has resulted in a disconnect between the academic expert communities, and the broader market that is often driven by ‘hype’. Aware of the kind of destructive volatility this can result in, V-Art seeks to provide the intellectual infrastructure through curation, editorial, and blogs, webinars, and conferences with experts as well as honest analytics to build a community of like-minded stakeholders around itself. 

What are the final results?

Together with the security of the NFT+ solution, the synergy of the marketplace with virtual exhibitions, the solicitude of the team for the general community from the staples of the V-Art platform.

The company has great plans for the future. For example, while the augmented reality functionality is already ready for use at any one of the virtual shows, the management plans to integrate VR in the future to provide its artists with yet another set of tools for creation. In prioritizing AR, the team was guided by concerns for accessibility. “Digital is all about democratization and breaking arbitrary boundaries”, says Roman Minin, an artist and co-founder. While users still need an expensive headset to experience VR, many more have a smartphone they can use to place an artwork in a new environment. The ability to reach audiences and markets previously marginal in the art world is an opportunity the team cherishes. 

While V-Art prepares everything for the hard launch of the NFT+ marketplace scheduled for mid-summer 2021, curious readers are already free to enjoy one of the numerous virtual exhibitions available through the website or app or to register as an artist, user, or collector to gain access to the platform’s 1000+ database of artworks. It looks like the digital art world is due for another shake-up – and V-Art certainly has its eyes set on joining the exciting arena. 

Contact: Anastasiia Gliebova, CEO and Co-founder,  a.gliebova@v-art.digital. 

The project “Boosting local traditional industries with IT capacities” is implementing by TechUkraine in partnership with APPAU – Association of Industrial Automation of Ukraine, International Association Culture&Creativity Association with the financial support of the German government through GIZ that aims to increase the competitiveness of traditional industries in strong collaboration with Ukrainian IT companies.