One of the biggest challenges for the art market is building trust about how the authenticity, provenance, ownership and condition of works of art are determined. This affects private, corporate and institutional collectors.

The potential use of blockchain and associated technologies to establish ownership, provenance and authenticity, and to store condition reports, has been widely discussed in recent years. But a major problem is that art-technology companies and the wider art world do not have consistent standards of how to use them. This can lead to information “silos”, duplicate records and incomplete data that is difficult to integrate across platforms.

Talking Transparency: Blockchain Technology will look at the development of the Art Identification Standard (AIS) and its proposal for an aID (a unique identifier for works of art). This is a not-for-profit initiative involving many leading industry players, launched earlier this year at the London Art Fair. It is designed to help artists, galleries and auction houses, collectors, shippers and museums record and check information securely and easily.

Can this initiative help galleries and auction houses increase business efficiency? Will it help artists to assert their rights over works of art and keep control of their data? Can it reduce risks for collectors and museums? Will it make it easier for works of art to be loaned safely to international exhibitions, tracking any changes in condition? Could this lead to lower insurance costs if insurers reduce the risk-rating of works with an aID?

Join Moderator Marianne Magnin, Managing Director, Arteïa UK and Chair, AIS, who will outline how AIS can lead to the creation of a unique, standardised identifier for works of art, supported by a technical and governance infrastructure for their registration. She will discuss AIS and its applications with her fellow members Nanne Dekking, Chairman, TEFAF, and Founder and CEO, Artory, Annika Erikson, Founder and CEO, Articheck, Niko Kipouros, Founder, 4ARTechnologies, Serena Tabacchi, Founder and Director, MoCDA, and Bernadine Bröcker Wieder, Co-Founder and CEO, Vastari.

Arteïa produces collection management systems, online viewing rooms and digital catalogue raisonnés, secured on a blockchain. Artists could use the AIS to register their works as they leave the studio, for example, automatically adding them to a digital catalogue raisonné.

Articheck is designed to streamline, standardise and secure artwork-condition reporting using its apps. Galleries taking works of art on consignment, for example, could create a condition report linked to a work’s aID, increasing trust among buyers.

Artory is a secure public art and document register for collectors, using blockchain and encryption. Works registered on Artory are verified by independent experts: once verified, a work is issued with a certificate, which is stored in a digital vault. Information on works can be updated, but collectors’ identities remain confidential.

4ARTechnologies has created a high-resolution scanning system that creates a digital “fingerprint” for artworks, allowing the creation of a “digital passport”, which includes condition and change-of-ownership information.

MoCDA, the online Museum of Contemporary Digital Art, is a platform for preserving knowledge and setting technical standards for new digital art. Unique IDs for digital works of art could streamline collections management.

Vastari is a platform that facilitates exhibition and touring exhibitions, linking collectors and museums. A unique ID could be used to relate works of art to their exhibition histories, among other uses.
  • 1400-1530 UTC I Panel Discussion Moderated by Marianne Magnin I A New Force in Identification: How can AIS help Digital Integration and establish Greater Data Trust for the Art Market?
  • 1590586692-06f6915fe3ba4f60
    Marianne Magnin
    Managing Director Arteïa UK Chair AIS
    London, UK
  • 1590586871-822de41778bd8d56
    Serena Tabacchi
    Founder & Director MoCDA
    London, UK
  • 1590586962-a55e7eba445629ff
    Annika Erikson
    Founder & CEO Articheck
    London, UK
  • 1590587083-a543b2737aafef85
    Bernadine Bröcker Wieder
    Co-Founder & CEO Vastari
    London, UK
  • 1590587218-22ae5814b13aa657
    Nanne Dekking
    Founder & CEO Artory Chairman of the Board TEFAF
    New York, USA
  • 1590587327-79fd017ea4b4babd
    Niko Kipouros
    Founder 4ARTechnologies Zug
    Switzerland