YourArt has ambitions to exhibit and sell works of amateur and professional artists
A new digital platform dedicated to art was launched today by the head of the French Publicis group, Maurice Levy, AFP reported.
The idea is that in the future it will become a “social network for art”. The project, called YourArt, has ambitions to exhibit and sell works by amateur and professional artists.
We want it to “become the world’s leading platform for art and technology, with the largest number of artists, galleries, collectors and enthusiasts,” said Levy, who is chairman of the company’s communications supervisory board.
The Frenchman, who is 81 years old, combines in this project two of his passions – art and technology. This is a family adventure that Maurice Levy started with his son Stefan, Vice President of YourArt.
The head of “Publicis” initially invested nine million euros “with his family and friends”. Among the partners in the project is Henry Kravis, billionaire and founder of the American fund KKR.
Any artist can subscribe (for between 10 and 30 euros per month) to display their works – from a simple portfolio to a virtual 3D gallery.
The project is aimed at both established creators and amateurs, without making a special selection – a model reminiscent of the YouTube platform, notes AFP.
Artists and galleries can also offer artwork, and the site will take between five and ten percent commission.
“I love art,” says Levy, a collector of French artists Pierre Soulages and Jean Dubuffet, and also a former president of the Palais de Tokyo, a center for modern and contemporary art in Paris.
“Around 2008, I came across a study that struck me: it showed an incredible number of amateur artists and their frustration at not being able to show their work. That’s how I came up with the idea of offering the largest gallery in the world,” he says.
“We are creating a French platform, with European ambitions in 2024, and then global ambitions,” emphasized Maurice Levy.
YourArt already has 22 employees. The platform is set to be enriched with new features such as irreplaceable tokens and a messaging system to create a “social network for art”.
It is not planned to receive public assistance “so that we can work freely”, emphasized Levy, quoted by AFP.
Illustrative Photo by picjumbo.com: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-using-laptop-computer-during-daytime-196655/
