How Art Meets Tech

People in the art world are often kind of like your parents learning how to text – they know that technology is a thing but they don’t have a ton of interest in learning to use it. And tech can be very overwhelming and intimidating if you’re not used to it – the art archival software available today is complicated, with a steep learning curve. It’s also really expensive, especially for smaller artists and collectors. Professional art making is a lifelong pursuit and costly practice for all artists. Several thousand dollar price tag puts archiving and inventory software totally out of reach of a lot of smaller artists, collectors and dealers.

Oil And Water: A Mixed Medium

On top of the accessibility issue, the art world is highly fragmented. Collectors and artists have their own works but no easy, robust way to share them with the world. If you’re a collector, that means you’re missing out on sharing your collection with other like-minded individuals and discovering new art that interests you. If you’re an artist, that means your work isn’t getting seen by your peers and larger audience groups as much as it could be, which can put a real damper on your potential career.

ARTDEX and the ARTDEX App are designed to bring tech into the art world and solve these problems. We’re creating a free, online network of artists, collectors, art students, gallerists, and art lovers that can act as an archival toolset but also a “professional” social network for the global art audience. You can use it to keep records and organize your collection, discover your next favorite artist, reach out to other collectors and artists, and build a network of people and community who love art as much as you do.

ARTDEX At NY Tech Day

Pier 94 is a huge venue, a literal terminal for ship and cargo and it was completely transformed for one day for the hundreds of startups to hustle and showcase all their shiny gadgets and new inventions at NY Tech Day so attendees could find the next best company to invest in work with. Our ARTDEX booth (J-15) was located close to the media/VIP lounge in the  “social media” section.

It was a whirlwind for us – from 10 am to 5 pm, not a moment passed without someone stopping by at our booth and asking us questions about our project and our mission. Almost everyone wanted to know what ARTDEX is and what it can do, which made us realize that the general public is not at all familiar with art digitization and how it can enhance the experience and value of art in a broad sense. That reminded us that our job as a startup company is to show the potential of the digitized art world as much as to guide individuals through the online art process.

I was also fortunate to engage with a number of attendees who had a huge passion for the art world. Some of them lingered for hours to talk about the power of art and how instrumental it is in the implementation of global change.

I met Kristin, a technology industry insider, who had recently returned from a long sabbatical with her private foundation, traveling all through the Himalayas, Nepal, India, Mongolia, Burma, Philippines, and other parts of Asia. We realized we both believed in Buddhism, in a deeply spiritual core belief system, and in reincarnation. We also found that we both believe that the intersection of art and technology is the fulcrum by which we can best enact global change.

I also met Jasmin Hernandez, the founder of an awesome website called Gallery Gurls advocating the focused role of female and minority group in the art world, in addition she’s also an active contributor to an art blog Arte Fuse. Her site is the home of some of the most refreshing, diverse, and thoughtful voices and viewpoints in the contemporary art scene. As with Kristin, our chat let us to realize that we have a similar vision and a deep commitment for the unique way that art can change the world.

So many people stopped by our booth and genuinely wanted to cheer us on and talk about their love of art. They let me know how art touches them and how they want to be more involved in the art world. These real and passionate dialogues reminded me of why I started the ARTDEX project in the first place – to further connect the people of the art world and build an authentic global art community. We and the folks we met at TechDay believe that art shouldn’t be constricted by political, religious, ideological, or geographic boundaries. NY TechDay put us in touch with a whole new cosmos of people who see the world differently and behind the shiny display screens, VR rigs, and 3D printers, ARTDEX fits right in.