Marjan Moghaddam wins the first edition of the ABS NFT Art Prize

Geneva, June 7th, 2023 – The winner of the world’s first NFT Art Prize has just been announced during the Non Fungible Conference. Marjan Moghaddam is among 10 other finalists with art pieces ranging from different NFT art movements, including Generative Art, AI, Photography, and Glitch Art.

Combining its involvement in the crypto space with its long-term patronage of the arts, Arab Bank Switzerland announced the launch of the world’s first NFT Art Prize last year to emphasize the link between art and technology by supporting artists who, in their own way, revolutionise the world of art. The call for application for this first edition incorporating the theme “Orient meets Occident” proved to be a success with over 140 applications since its opening in January 2023. 

This first edition’s jury includes experts in the digital art world: Inna Modja, Co-founder of Code Green, and UN Ambassador (UNCCD), John Karp, President of the Non Fungible Conference, Nicolas Gonet, Board Member of Gonet & Cie and Arab Bank Switzerland, Benoit Couty, Founder of MoCA, Valeria Lavizzari, Executive Director at Arab Bank Switzerland, and Rani Jabban, Managing Director of Arab Bank Switzerland.

Following several deliberations, the NFT Art Prize jury shortlisted the following 10 international artists and their artworks which will all be exhibited at the Non Fungible Conference on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th June:

1. Fiona Aboud, and her piece “Generations”, a portrait  superposing pictures of her Lebanese Great-Great-Grandmother, who emigrated to Brazil around 1889 and her today in NYC, a combination of past generations – their joys, hardships, quirks, and passions. 
2. Giulio Aprin, and his photograph “Sands of Time”, a lesson on how any person faced with the vastness and greatness of mother nature can resize themselves and their priorities, rediscovering a new reality.
3. Abdoulaye Barry, and his piece “Arabesque”, based on the French word that describes an ornamental design of intertwined flowing lines, originally found on ancient Islamic structures.The artwork conveys this singularity by portraying an ancient Islamic art method using the modern 3D tools.
4. Louis-Paul Caron, and his piece “Orient Express”, a futuristic animated artwork in which the journey seems infinite. The destination is surely inaccessible, perhaps non-existent, and the promise of a life-saving technology also seems to have flown away, questioning the future of our virtual worlds. 
5. Code22, and their piece “intro to a not-so-binary world”, a geometric abstraction in which intricate patterns of isosceles triangles and, later, alternating colors are calculated to shift under our eyes, to produce movement, metamorphosis and fluidity in the form of hypnotic mashrabiyas.
6. Frederik De Wilde, and his project “CryptoSpirits_Data Weaving_#1”,  a visual aesthetic inspired by Islamic geometric patterns found in oriental carpets, and also depicted in Renaissance paintings, and western glitch aesthetics and color field art. His work is at the intersection of contemporary technology, ancient animism and the impact of climate change. 
7. Bard Ionson, and his AI artwork “Future Is Where East & West Touch”, a new world where ancient cities and landscapes are fused together. Through technology the East and West cooperate and collaborate with each other in a decentralized way. 
8. Rizacan Kumas, and his portrait “Breeze”, a work depicting how a simple breeze can have an effect on our lives, and even though we smile, we continue to collide with what the years have brought us. 
9. Marjan Moghaddam, and her piece “Glitching 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. 
10. Popeye Pazuru, and his collage “East Wind, West Wind” the tribute to Pearl Buck and her discovery of cultures is also an interactive piece that uses code to create movement on the clock’s display of time. 

Inna Modja, International Artist, Co-founder of Code Green, and UN Ambassador (UNCCD), as well as President of the Jury, commented: “I’m proud to have been part of the first NFT Art Prize of its kind! This award represents an important advancement in the digital art space, confirming the ever growing interest of major institutions”. 

Rani Jabban, Managing Director of Arab Bank Switzerland, added: “Congratulations to Marjan! Her piece “Glitching Intaleqi” embodies our theme for this Prize, at the crossroad of Orient and Occident, tradition and modernity. The use of contemporary digital aesthetics combined with traditional Middle-Eastern patterns transforms the piece into an experience, and into a feeling of freedom”.

In addition to the 15,000 CHF prize, and being included in Arab Bank Switzerland’s NFT Art Collection, the winner will be offered significant networking and visibility opportunities at special events around the world, starting with a dedicated exhibition in Lisbon during the Non Fungible Conference.

For more information, please visit: https://artbyarabbank.ch/en/nft-art-prize/application/