Where are the artists who will continue the digital art boom?

The 2nd Korea NFT Digital Art Festival

A boom in 'digital art' is currently underway. With technological advancements, not only emerging artists but also established masters of art are diving into digital art and pouring out their works.

It's not just the art world. Public interest is also intense.

The winning works from the 1st Digital Art Festival, held in 2023, achieved explosive popularity by continuing to sell out at Upbit Auctions. Some works garnered attention in the industry by being resold at prices close to 2-3 times their original value.

MaeKyung Economy is hosting the 2nd NFT Digital Art Festival to find the protagonists who will continue the digital art 'boom'.

With the ambition of continuing the intense fervor of the 1st festival, the scale of the competition has been increased compared to the first. It is an international call for entries, expanding the scope overseas, aiming to discover and nurture artists from Asian countries outside of Korea.

This competition is hosted by Maekyung Economy and managed by Yellowstone and Mblock Company.

Dunamu, ARTTOKEN (2R2 Global), Korea Federation of Arts and Cultural Organizations, Korea Art Association, Pluem Tech, Korea Designers Association, GALLERY U.H.M, and various art and criticism groups are sponsoring the festival.

All artists are eligible to apply, from rookies who are just starting to paint to established artists who have consistently worked in digital art. Anyone aged 19 or older, regardless of Korean or foreign nationality, can participate.

The judging process will proceed in a total of three stages. After the 1st and 2nd rounds of judging, there will be a 3rd final round including an in-depth interview.

The total prize money for the competition is 28 million KRW. The Grand Prize winner will receive 10 million KRW and a plaque, and six Gold Prize winners will each receive 3 million KRW and a certificate. As an NFT art competition that allows free submission without distinguishing material or format, it is unequivocally the largest event in Korea in terms of prize money and participation scale.

Some winning works will be granted the privilege of being issued as NFTs and introduced by the work and artist through Maekyung Economy's print and online media, along with the prize money.

The works will be created as NFTs and listed on NFT marketplaces for trading. Trading in the overseas NFT market will also be supported through platforms like 2R2.

For the Grand and Gold Prize winning works, the organizer will purchase them, taking over all rights to the works. The NFT trading revenue from shortlisted works will be distributed among the artist, the exchange, the host, and the managing company.

Artwork recruitment across a total of 3 fields

Plagiarized works will result in disqualification and prize money recovery

The application method is simple. You only need to submit new creative works converted into digital formats, such as digital images, illustrations, CG videos, and 3D videos, via email.

The competition is divided into a total of 3 categories. Category 1 is video. Creative graphic videos and 3D videos are included. Category 2 is illustration. 2D and 3D formats are acceptable. The final Category 3 is creative AI digital art.

When applying, you must include your name and contact information, such as phone number and email address. Submission specifications are png, mp4, etc., and there is a file size limit. Submission is finalized by saving the application form and the artwork into a single compressed file (Submission Category_Artist Name_Artwork Name.zip) and sending it to the competition submission email.

Artists wishing to participate must observe the precautions. First, submitted works must be original creations that have not been submitted to other contests or made public to the general public. Works that have won in other competitions or plagiarized/copied others' works are subject to disqualification and prize money recovery. If legal disputes arise due to the imitation or plagiarism of others' ideas, the applicant must bear all civil and criminal responsibilities and costs.

For more detailed schedules, award details, confirmation of application methods, and downloading submission documents, please check the Maekyung Economy homepage (www.mk.co.kr/economy/) Additional inquiries can be sent to the Korea NFT Digital Art Festival operating team email (questionmkart@gmail.com).

How was the popularity of the 1st works?

Consistently in the top ranks even after the drop

The works from the past 1st festival were auctioned on Upbit in December 2023. On December 18 of last year, 35 works won the Excellent Award and were first revealed. 20 NFTs were issued for each work, and 26 out of 35 works were successfully sold. A total of 642 were sold over two days. Most of the works sold out immediately after being revealed.

The Grand Prize and Gold Prize works were traded on December 25 of last year. Bang Jeong-ho's 'Garden organ factory', which won the Grand Prize, had only one NFT issued. The sale was conducted through an English auction method. This is an auction method where bids gradually increase from the starting price. It was finally sold for 1.5 million KRW, roughly three times the initial bidding price of 500,000 KRW.

Out of the 761 NFTs issued, including those for the Grand and Gold Prizes, 703 were sold in the two drops.

In addition to the Grand and Gold Prizes, many works from the Excellent Award were also popular. Among the Excellent Award works, Cha Si-eun's 'For Sale, True Love', Kim Hee-joong's 'pet man', Jeong Ji-woo's 'Mosaic Paris', and Jang In-suk's 'Flower Sea' are currently selling well.

All four works ranked within the top 10 based on transaction volume on the Upbit NFT exchange immediately after the drop. Notably, 'pet man' and 'Mosaic Paris' saw their unit prices soar into the 300,000 KRW range. This is more than six times the starting price.

In particular, 'pet man' continues to boast consistent popularity, ranking 7th in Upbit NFT transaction volume as of January 18.

[This article is from Maekyung Economy Issue 2244 (Jan 24-Jan 30, 2024)]

Reporter Ban Jin-wook

Source: Maekyung Economy (https://www.mk.co.kr ) https://www.mk.co.kr/news/business/10925007