- Arab Bank Switzerland’s Digital Art Prize is the first award by a major financial institution to recognize and celebrate digital artists in the NFT space.
- The artist RVig and his piece “Les Fleurs du Mal”, was selected as the winner during the Non-Fungible Conference in Lisbon.
- With over 400 applications, the 10 finalists were recognized for their innovative artworks representing a variety of movements in digital art, from Generative Art to Artificial Intelligence.
Geneva, May 29th, 2024 – The French national RVig won the second edition of the ABS Digital Art Prize with his artwork “Les Fleurs du Mal”. Following a four months campaign with over 400 applications all over the globe, the winner was announced on the main stage during the Non-Fungible Conference in Lisbon on Tuesday 28th in the evening.
The prize is the first of its kind to recognize artists in the NFT space. It has as jury members Rani Jabban, Managing Director of Arab Bank Switzerland, joined by Claire Silver, President of the second ABS Digital Art Prize and Artificial Intelligence collaborative artist, Dave Krugman, Photographer and founder of ALLSHIPS, William Mapan, Generative Artist, and Marjan Moghaddam, Crypto Artist and Winner of the 2023 ABS Digital Art Prize.
RVig has been a digital artist since 1999 but entered the world of NFTs in 2021. His winning piece “Les Fleurs du Mal” is a three minute video loop embodying Charles Baudelaire’s 126 poems as ribbons which evolve and flow according to the structure of the poetry. A visual realm is created where the ribbons intertwine and mingle, mirroring the structure of the text. The result is a dance between the individual poems in the book, with each ribbon moving independently, driven purely by the shape and construct of the words. Rvig currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland.
Claire Silver, International Artificial Intelligence Artist, and President of the Jury, commented: “Rvig is to be congratulated on this award. In a digital art competition that has attracted beautiful work from all over the world, Les Fleurs du Mal stood out with a concept and execution that is not just visually elegant and emotive but that also showcases some of the extraordinary potential that this fast evolving medium creates in the digital art world. »
Following the success of the first Digital Art Prize in June 2023, ABS is committed to supporting emerging digital artists around the world. This second call for applications saw 429 artists apply from 66 countries with artworks around the theme “Journey(s) in Art: Pushing the Boundaries”. After weeks of deliberations, the jury shortlisted the following 10 international artists, a selection illustrating the variety of applications received and reflective of currents trends in the digital art field:
- Miss AL Simpson, “02.06.77”
- Anthony Samaniego, “Digital Bloom”
- Ivona Tau, “If Plastic Cups Could Dream They Would Be Filled with Ocean”
- Leander Herzog, “Heatsink #2”
- Louis Paul Caron, and his animated work, “L’Atelier”
- MDD, “New Person”
- Mia Forrest, “SUMMER”
- Samantha Cavet and Eva Eller, “Angelorum Gaudium”
- Roope Rainisto & Irina Angles, “Take me to myself”
- RVig,“LesFleursduMal”
Rani Jabban, Managing Director of Arab Bank Switzerland, added: “As a patron of the arts, closely involved in the digital asset space, the creation of an art prize was a logical next step. We believe it was critical to establish a global art award that would promote and support these artists while raising awareness of this emerging sector.”
In addition to winning a 15,000 CHF prize and being included in the Arab Bank Switzerland’s Digital Art Collection, the winner will be offered significant networking and visibility opportunities at special events around the world.
For more information, please visit: https://artbyarabbank.ch/en/nft-art-prize/application/
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Contacts
Alex Brown
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+44 7817 051670
Zoe de Lantsheere
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+44 797 55 27844
Christina Freyberg
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+44 7780 705 262
About the ABS Digital Art Prize
In 2023, Arab Bank Switzerland, long-time patron of the arts, launched the world’s first NFT Art Prize to recognize and celebrate NFT art and creators involved in the emergence of this emerging artistic (r)evolution.
The first edition received over hundreds of applications globally on the theme “Between Orient and Occident”, ranging from different art movements, including Generative Art, Artificial Intelligence, Photography, Crypto-Art and Glitch Art. The winner of the 2023 edition was Iranian-American Artist Marjan Moghaddam with her piece “Glitch Intaleqi”, an animated painting exploring the digital aspects of the ideals of Intaleqi or Arabic for freeing oneself, as an experience, feeling and state of being.
The prize, now rebranded as the “ABS Digital Art Prize”, to highlight the evolution of NFTs in art, launched its second edition under the theme “Journey(s) in Art: Pushing the Boundaries”.
For more information, please visit: artbyarabbank.ch/en/nft-art-prize/
About Arab Bank Switzerland
Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd. was created in Switzerland in 1962, aiming to create a bridge between the Middle Eastern and the Western worlds. The bank has become a trusted partner for high net worth individuals, including business leaders and family entrepreneurs in the MENA region for the past 60 years. Arab Bank Switzerland is the independent, sister company of Arab Bank Plc, one of the biggest banks in the Middle East.
For more information, please visit: www.arabbank.ch