The sessions of the Digital Arts Conference in Saudi Arabia, organized by the Visual Arts Authority in partnership with Sotheby’s Auction House, concluded on the sidelines of the Diriyah Biennale for Contemporary Art in the Jax neighborhood in Riyadh, in the presence of artists and art collectors.

The last day’s sessions were devoted to talking about the future of (NFT) in the world and the effects of digital currencies. The chairperson, Mai and one of the founders of Aorist company, Dib Pablo Rodriguez Frail, began by thanking the Ministry of Culture represented by the Visual Arts Authority in partnership for organizing this distinguished conference.

Frayel revealed that his upbringing in a family interested in arts and culture made the passion for these fields turn into a professionalism in his field, stressing his continuous support for artists entering the digital world. I work with them, and we have been able to acquire many unique artworks.”

He stressed that the interest of the famous traditional museums with the (NFT) through its display and marketing, will increase the interaction of many people with it, pointing out that traditional works of art have become in one way or another a twinning with digital arts, and they are expected to fully integrate soon, he said.

Weil gave an example of the association of the traditional artistic world with the digital by saying: "On one of my previous visits, we found an artist who drew a design for his watch and displayed it on a digital platform, before he manufactured it in the exhibition, so he was able to sell the design and the watch at the same time. We must be aware of the fact that ( NFT) has become a way to prove the truth of the manufactured business."

The digital multimedia artist, Anne Spalter, explained that the artist can put his works in an auction on the digital market platforms, and then determine who can buy them from him easily, and he can refuse to sell them and be for display only.

And she continued, "There is a privilege that the artist obtains when he sells one of his digital works, as he receives a percentage of 10% of the value of repeating the sale of his work in the markets and digital platforms from one person to another after selling it for the first time by him personally, and we do not forget that there are those who refuse to sell his works, but rather He makes it available for display only, as he considers it an integral part of his private life affairs which he refuses to share with anyone.”

While the Managing Director of Sothey's in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Sebastian Fahey, stated that the (NFT) is not a new thing, rather it originated in 2014, but the last two years have witnessed a tremendous growth in its world, through the rise in the number of artists and art collectors Digital art, noting that digital art collectors live at a younger age (10) years than traditional art lovers, according to what he saw during his current experience.

He continued, "In the world of digital art, we can confirm that the presence of high levels of security enables the artist to directly supervise his digital transactions by selling or collecting works of art, and even buying them, unlike what happens in traditional art, in which brokers are abundant."

He believes that holding such events and conferences is a way to learn the NFT, indicating that there are other ways to learn, including self-education, through the person attending traditional or virtual workshops.

For his part, the founder and former director of the Tasami Center and the supervisor of the City Center for Arts participated in this session, the artist Rashid Al-Shasha’i, by saying: “I think that the moral value that the artist achieves in the digital world exceeds his goals to achieve financial gains, and I am very optimistic that there is a future generation capable of enriching This world is characterized by distinctive creative ideas that cover what we see in contemporary traditional arts.”

He added: "We live in a prosperous age in the Kingdom through interaction with scientific developments in the whole world, as the organization of this distinguished conference by the Visual Arts Authority is evidence that conditions have changed rapidly for the better, and the light of the world of digital arts will become shining in all in the near future." .

It is worth noting that the conference witnessed, during its stay, which lasted for three continuous days, a large presence of amateurs and professionals interested in digital arts, as well as owners of institutions and companies. This is the first event of its kind hosted by the Kingdom in particular and the Middle East in general. Which reflects the growing interest in this modern technical field.