A Korean start-up has created an amazing platform to support the modern-day global art world and the artist community through online and offline avenues. Bitglim has been launched with a vision to offer service to the artist community, which has been facing various issues like a dip in overall artist earnings, increase in the income gap between famous and unknown artists and overall loss of diversity in art.
Offline & Online platforms for art and artists
Bitglim offers art services that help users to share their work with the world, both online & offline, no matter their personal circumstances. The start-up has two main components: the PASA Festival & Catchspot. PASA Festival is an annual event where art from new and unknown artists along with famous artists is exhibited at open spaces. Domestic and foreign artists selected through public offering and recommendation join in the exhibition combining traditional and new technologies in various fields such as photography, formative art, media art, and installation art. In 2016 & 2017, the art festival featured more than 200 international artists.
Bitglim wants to forge a new culture
of art consumption and support artists.
The Catchspot is an online art platform where users can easily access and share any kind of art they conceive. The Catchspot infiltrates culture and art into urban public places by utilising empty spaces. With this service, everyone can have access to various art and cultural events easily by converting each public place including café, bar, hotel and others into a multi-cultural centre. The Catchspot curates artworks corresponding to the structure and spaces available in a certain public place and the preferences of our clients, venue owners. The visitors have the ability to check exhibition schedules at the place in advance both online and offline. With Catchspot, empty spaces and artists no longer have to worry about to be discovered and will have access to a much broader audience and excellent exposure. Furthermore, the Catchspot wants to expand this business model through new features like live-streaming of art activity, open-call for the best artwork, and facilitation of collaborative art. Future goal of the Catchspot is to develop smart art technologies that enrich art culture, like 3D printing, blockchain, Virtual and Augmented Reality.
Uplifting Art for Sake of Humanity
Bitglim’s profits come through commissioning and advertising revenues. There is a nominal charge for both artists and venue owners using the online services and offline exhibition spaces. There is advertising revenue by selling of online & offline advertising opportunities that is exposed to the public, similar to other platform companies. “We see art as dignity and as uniqueness of humanity that can never be eclipsed by technology. Bitglim will support artists to create creative art for the sake of humanity,” believes the art platform. Besides its regular premier products, Bitglim also utilises empty spaces at cafes where people gather most in substitute of galleries. With monthly held solo exhibitions. The people can even interact with new artists and experience a unique cultural event.
Bitglim’s efforts to support the art-world have found broad support. The start-up has been sponsored by varied funders as Suwon City, a state-endowed start-up fund called RIPC, the Industrial Bank of Korea, Vietnam Sillicon Valley and Korea Creative Contents Agency. Now, Bitglim is looking forward to collaborating with anyone who shares their vision of the future for a seamless and creative art appreciation platform. The company is already operating from South Korea and Vietnam, and it wants to establish a USA branch to truly create a global impact.
