The 15th edition of fair hosted more than 100 local and foreign art dealers, with an entire wing of 17 galleries and platforms dedicated to showcasing and selling NFTs, or non-fungible tokens
Visitors stand in front of works by Bybit on display during the 15th edition of Art Dubai at Madinat Jumeirah in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, on March 10, 2022. Art Dubai, the Middle East's largest annual contemporary art fair, featured for the first time digital works, as the wealthy Gulf emirate seeks to position itself as a crypto-assets hub; Image: Karim SAHIB / AFP
Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Art Dubai, the Middle East's largest annual contemporary art fair, has featured for the first time digital works, as the wealthy Gulf emirate seeks to position itself as a crypto-assets hub.
This year, in its 15th edition, the three-day fair hosted more than 100 local and foreign art dealers, with an entire wing of 17 galleries and platforms dedicated to showcasing and selling NFTs, or non-fungible tokens.
NFT sales platforms use the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrencies, and transform anything from illustrations to memes into virtual collectors' items that cannot be duplicated.
Benedetta Ghione, Art Dubai's executive director, said NFTs, which burst into the mainstream last year and are now traded at major auction houses, have drawn a lot of attention in the United Arab Emirates, already a leisure and business hub.
The increased interest, along with Dubai's "unique position" as "a growing crypto hub", prompted fair organisers to dedicate a new digital section, she told AFP at the launch on Friday.