The Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the leading banks in the United Arab Emirates, is now taking part in the non-fungible token (NFT) trend. The artistic ledgers are basically units of data stored on a blockchain where you can buy or sell digital art. CBD is the first bank in the world to have its own NFTs. The bank announced that it will host an NFT art exhibition in partnership with Amrita Sethi, the UAE-based NFT artist herself!
The exhibition will be hosted at the bank’s digital lab in the Innovation Hub of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The digital art exhibition will last until the end of February. It tells the stories of the evolution of the bank in the last 50 years. The story of their head office building, their logo of the Deira Clock Tower and the bank’s identity.
“In the last couple of years, the market for NFTs has grown significantly and many artists across the world are utilizing the power of technology to showcase their passion. We are proud to be able to provide a platform to showcase one of the UAE’s finest artists at our Digital Lab and to provide art lovers, technology enthusiasts, and the wider community a one-of-a-kind chance to experience the NFT technology,” said the CEO of Commercial Bank of Dubai, Dr. Bernd Van Linder.
Amrita Sethi
Sethi is the pioneer of digital art in the UAE. She is actually the first NFT artist in the UAE and the first creator of Voice Note Art. This type of contemporary art is created through saying a word, whatever it is, and then creating art on the sound waves it creates. The soundwaves create “a flood of images that streams into the mind’s eye,” says Sethi’s website.
Sethi wrote on her Linkedin profile, “Welcome to the NFT club Commercial Bank of Dubai! The first bank in the UAE to have its own NFT collection! Delighted to have created a bespoke “Dubai” Voice note Art for Commercial Bank of Dubai to mark their arrival into the DIFC as part of their Digital Lab as well as celebrate the #yearofthefiftieth.”
The CBDxSethi art exhibition presents works through a mix of technology. The artwork is titled, “This is the Future of Art,” where all pieces are presented in Augmented reality technology. Sethi made 28 special edition artwork pieces of Voice note Art for CBD with the theme “Dubai”. Each piece of art is physical, yet has an NFT digital replica with dynamic angles of AR.
The exhibition’s attendees can scan the QR codes in the artwork with their phones, which activates an Augmented Reality where people can “see sound” in the art. The audio-visual, one-of-a-kind experience is brought to the Middle East by CBD.