This SG gallery paints art’s new landscape with NFT-blockchain twist

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Hello readers,

Art has always fascinated me as a powerful tool of expression. On a blank canvas, imaginations can run wild without limits.

Growing up, my first taste of it was through a painting class. I was never a talented painter (stick figures are more my thing), but I still take pride in a bright red apple I painted many moons ago. To this day, I’m in awe of artists who can bring their ideas to life and evoke powerful emotions from people.

Luckily for me, though, I quickly realized art exists in more forms than one. Any channel that allows a person to express their creativity can be considered art. Movies, music, writing, science, vlogging, and even investing can fall under this umbrella to varying degrees.

Yet, despite being engraved into the very fabric of humankind (cave paintings were one of our earliest forms of communication), art, more often than not, has faced a familiar and somewhat unfair question through the generations: How does it stay relevant?

The answer is quite simple: it has evolved and adapted. Today, works of art are a far cry from the obscenely expensive stereotypical renaissance paintings we picture in our heads.

For instance, the ever-popular GIFs (shoutout to our graphic designer Timmy) in Tech in Asia’s Daily newsletters regularly provoke a reaction from our readers, either piquing their curiosity or leaving them grinning.

This all leads us to the next phase of art evolution – a concept today’s premium story puts under the microscope. My colleague, Shihan, lays out why one of Singapore’s national art museums, the National Gallery, has opted to dip its toes in the NFT and blockchain space and how its plans to leverage this tech to revitalize its patronage of art.

Today we look at:

• National Gallery Singapore’s tricky blockchain and NFT play
• A three-way merger in Asia Pacific’s co-working space
• Other newsy highlights such as a Singaporean comedian’s NFT venture and a Chinese ecommerce firm’s second major funding round this year

Also, if you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding, fill out this form to get your company featured on our list of fundraising startups.

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Staying relevant

Image credit: Timmy Loen

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