When art meets tech, digital art platforms like Artsplit are started to democratize the business of art collecting. Artsplit is a digital art platform that allows art collectors to own and profit from valuable African art. Collectors can trade their ownership in the long run.
Their mission statement reads:
“With the explosion in the appreciation and value of African content and art in the global market over the last decade. African art is undeniably the new liquid gold! As a result, we created a platform that elevates the investment status of African art by enabling users to co-own rare and valuable artworks on a platform that ensures price discovery and market liquidity. By developing the African art ecosystem through technology and co-ownership, we aim to position African art and artists as the preferred alternative investment choice. We believe that by using alternative investments, we can make wealth accessible to everyone.”
Onyinye Anyaegbu, the CEO of Artsplit started the digital art platform in April 2022. The goal of the arttech is to broaden the possibilities for art ownership in the African art world. By building a diverse community of African art investors and collectors and offering art as a form of currency, they hope to increase the visibility of African art on a global scale and make it easier for people to buy, sell, and collect it.
The Artsplit app offers users a number of cutting-edge chances, such as the ability to own fractions – also known as ‘Splits’ – of significant works of art by African artists, that users can keep or trade within the app. Artsplit’s users can jointly own a single iconic work of art. They can also take part in a “Lease Auction” on the app to win and retain physical custody of these split artworks for a predetermined amount of time.
Image courtesy of Artsplit
In 2022, they held their first ‘Lease Auction’, which took place two weeks after the platform launched, setting the records of $1,185.19 and $1,128.75 for two artworks by Ivorian artist Aboudia and the late South African artist Irma Stern. The new owners will have a six-month lease on the works. The lease auction was described as the first auction of its kind on the continent and was well-received by a wide range of art collectors.
Artsplit is increasing the visibility of the artists on the platform and introducing their work to a new group of art investors and collectors, which will raise the status of both their works. The Artsplit app is available for download on the App Store and Google Play Store.
