Using NFT (Non Fungible Token) technology to finance and restore physical works of art that are emblematic of our heritage. This is the project of Belgian startup company Artts, supported by the King Baudouin Foundation, which is making available to it 13 artworks of artist Didier Comès. In 2013 the brother ans sisters of Comès donated his artistic heritage to the King Baudouin Foundation. Each of the 13 artworks will generate 10 NFTs, the sale of which will serve to finance the restoration of the original artwork. An innovative project that opens exciting new perspectives in heritage.
An innovative project, of public utility and philanthropic: three dimensions that convinced the King Baudouin Foundation to support this Artts project.
Anne De Breuck, Director of the King Baudouin Foundation’s Heritage and Culture Programme said, “NFTs are an innovate way of reaching new audiences and promoting knowledge about our heritage works. In so doing, this falls within the scope of one of the King Baudouin Foundation’s missions: to promote emblematic works of our Belgian heritage. NFTs can also contribute to supporting good causes, such as initiatives that enable our heritage to be restored. This philanthropic dimension is at the heart of the Foundation’s DNA, which also has the mission of initiating change in society.”
François Toussaint, CEO Artts, commented, “With this project, we aim to show that NFT technology can be used to create value in the real world and not only in a 100% virtual sphere.” Each of Didier Comès’s 13 original artworks, made available by the King Baudouin Foundation, will thus be used to create 10 NFTs. The sale of the resulting 130 NFTs will be take place in the presence of well-known guests including Thierry Bellefroid and François Schuiten, who will oversee the artist’s work. This will be one more occasion for the general public to (re-)discover the work of one of Belgium’s leading comic strip artists.
Profits from the sale of the NFTs will finance restoration of the 13 original artworks, which will subsequently be digitised. Each of the digital copies will be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, thanks to blockchain technology. Each NFT also gives the owner the right to receive at home a full size, physical authentic and numbered copy of the work.