At the National Gallery Singapore (NGS), an initiative to make art more accessible to the public and instil a sense of ownership by using blockchain technology is coming close to reality
Singapore top art gallery and arts governing board will not be left behind in the race to keep ahead of developments in the technology realm.
At the National Gallery Singapore (NGS), an initiative to make art more accessible to the public and instil a sense of ownership by using blockchain technology is coming close to reality.
Through NGS’ art technology convergence product innovation division called Y-Lab, a prototype platform has been developed with art-technology firm ArtWallStreet that can allow Singaporeans to redeem art non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for free.
For the test run at the moment, the NFT vending machine has artworks commissioned by NGS and based on the works by the Singapore artist who goes by the name of TheNextMostFamousArtist.
ArtWallStreet chief executive Arun Sugumaran, 39, says: The vending machine prototype is ready to be tested and is on display at the Y-Lab Showcase space at National Gallery Singapore.
The company’s chief product officer Aleksandar Abu Samra, 33, adds that the vending machine allows NFT redemption by simply scanning a QR code. Visitors do not need to have a crypto (currency) wallet prior to the redemption and would only require to log in or create an account via e-mail, he says.
NGS deputy director (digital innovation and transformation) Kevin Lim, 45, says: As an innovative museum, National Gallery Singapore continues to innovate and explore emerging technologies to see what is possible in creating more opportunities for art appreciation among our visitors.
All of National Gallery Singapore’s artwork collection has been digitised, adds NGS senior curator and deputy director (curatorial research) Seng Yu Jin. However, primarily due to copyright restrictions, approximately 80 per cent of the collection has been published online to date on its Online Collections Search Portal and Roots.sg.
Jin said: The gallery is making an utmost effort to make its collection accessible to the public by further enriching its metadata and actively seeking clearance from copyright holders.
To make art even more accessible, NGS launched ARText on Sept 19, an interactive platform which lets users learn about South-east Asian art through daily conversations on common messaging apps.
ARText is built on the concept of micro-learning and delivers bite-size and interactive art learning experiences to mobile devices. NGS is also looking at personalising the experience by integrating artificial intelligence text recognition software.
