ART3

What ART3 does

ART3 is a London-based private company that curates and distributes photographic art as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), targeting NFT art collectors and photographers seeking exposure to web3 distribution channels. Founded in October 2021 as a spinout of 1854 — the publisher of the British Journal of Photography, the world's oldest photography title — ART3 operates a community-led go-to-market model using curated drops, greenlist and presale mechanisms on Discord, Twitter, and email newsletter. Its core offering, Curated NFT Drops, presents one-of-one editions of work from emerging and established lens-based artists on the OpenSea marketplace, with archive-quality physical prints included as unlockables and, in some collections (e.g., #JAPES, Supergrannies), a 10% donation of net proceeds to relevant causes.

The platform's technology is relatively conventional for an NFT marketplace: tokens are minted on Ethereum (post-Merge, Proof of Stake) and listed on OpenSea, with proprietary differentiation residing in the curation layer rather than the infrastructure. Supporting products include ART3 Journal (editorial content around NFT photography), virtual exhibitions hosted on New Art City (Edition365, An Invitation), a newsletter/greenlist system, and named sub-products such as James and Other Apes (52 editions of James Mollison's great ape portraits), Edition365 (365-artwork pandemic-year archive), Ones To Watch (80 works from 16 emerging photographers), and Supergrannies of Korogocho. Revenue is generated via transaction fees on primary NFT sales through OpenSea, with artists receiving the majority of sale proceeds; the company has acknowledged generating over $200,000 in gross NFT sales volume across its first drops.

ART3 was led by Founder Marc Hartog and Co-Founder Libby Porteous (joined March 2022), with parent-company ties to media group 1854. The company enjoyed early traction including a Venice Biennale 2022 showing via the Decentral Art Pavilion and a featured panel at NFT.London 2022. However, given the prolonged downturn in the NFT photography market, the founders announced they are on an indefinite hiatus from WEB3 operations, with operations effectively paused as of the latest disclosed activity (Edition365 2023 exhibition, May 2023).

Name

ART3

Legal name

ART3.io Ltd

Website

https://art3.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ART3 is a London-based NFT photography platform, founded in 2021 as a spinout of the British Journal of Photography's publisher (1854), that curates and distributes one-of-one photographic NFT drops by emerging and established lens-based artists via OpenSea for web3 art collectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

NFT Photography Marketplace

NAICS

Art Dealers (45992), Art Dealers (459920)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSADANAC

Photography NFT Marketplaces

Financial & Insurance/Crypto & Digital Assets/Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) Marketplaces

SECONDARYFSAPAFAB

NFT Marketplaces & Aggregators (primary/secondary, discovery, cross-market routing)

Financial & Insurance/Blockchain & Web3/NFTs & Digital Collectibles Infrastructure (minting, marketplaces, royalties)

Keywords

• NFT photography platform
• Curated NFT drops
• Photographic art NFTs
• Virtual art exhibitions
• Web3 photography marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. NFT Primary Sales: Revenue generated from primary sales of NFT photography collections on OpenSea. Artists receive the majority of income from sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ART3 is a curated NFT photography platform founded by 1854 (publisher of British Journal of Photography) that enables collectors to discover, buy, and sell NFT photographic art from emerging and established lens-based artists. The platform curates photographic NFT drops distributed via OpenSea on the Ethereum blockchain, pairing digital NFT ownership with archive-quality physical prints as unlockable benefits. Featured projects include Edition365, James and Other Apes (#JAPES) by James Mollison, Ones To Watch, and Supergrannies of Korogocho.

Product overview

ART3 is a curated NFT photography platform that enables collectors to discover, buy, and sell NFT photographic art from emerging and established lens-based artists. The platform operates primarily through its Curated NFT Drops — featuring collections like #JAPES (James Mollison's great ape portraits), Edition365 (a historical COVID-19 pandemic portrait), Ones To Watch (emerging photographer works), and Supergrannies of Korogocho — all distributed via OpenSea with archive-quality physical prints as unlockable benefits. Supporting the drops is the ART3 Journal, an editorial platform with industry insights and artist stories. The platform also hosts Virtual Exhibitions on New Art City and manages a Mailing List for greenlist/pre-sale access. ART3 was launched in October 2021 by 1854, publisher of British Journal of Photography, and has generated over $200,000 in NFT sales. The company is currently on a break from WEB3 operations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ART3 Curated NFT Photography Drops The core, ongoing offering of ART3: curated NFT photography drops featuring emerging and established lens-based artists, sold on OpenSea via the Ethereum blockchain. Each drop pairs digital NFT ownership with archive-quality physical prints as unlockable benefits to the NFT holder. Targeted at individual NFT art collectors and photography enthusiasts.
• Edition365 A curated ART3 NFT photography drop featuring photographic works from emerging and established lens-based artists, distributed via OpenSea on the Ethereum blockchain.
• James and Other Apes (#JAPES) An NFT photography collection by James Mollison, curated by ART3 and sold on OpenSea with tiered rarity-based pricing (0.75 ETH, 0.9 ETH, 1.1 ETH). 10% of net proceeds were donated to ape sanctuaries.
• Ones To Watch A curated ART3 NFT photography drop spotlighting emerging lens-based artists and their photographic works, sold on OpenSea via Ethereum.
• Supergrannies of Korogocho A curated ART3 NFT photography collection, distributed via OpenSea on the Ethereum blockchain.
• ART3 Virtual Exhibitions (New Art City) Virtual NFT photography exhibitions hosted on the New Art City platform, complementing ART3's curated drops with curated browsing and exhibition experiences for collectors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Generated more than $200,000 in NFT sales

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 1854 / British Journal of PhotographycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2021Parent company and origin of ART3. 1854 is the publisher of British Journal of Photography - the world's oldest and most influential photography title. ART3 was launched by 1854 to explore photography in the Metaverse.
• OpenSeacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPrimary marketplace partner for NFT sales. OpenSea is partnering with ART3 to bring unique traditional photography to the blockchain. All ART3 collections are hosted on OpenSea.
• Jenny Metaverse DAO / Jenny DAOcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerOfficial partner supporting the JAPES collection. Jenny DAO supports photographers transitioning to NFTs and is collecting JAPES because the project 'bridges the gap between traditional art and NFT art.'
• New Art CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVirtual exhibition platform partner for immersive gallery experiences. Edition365 and An Invitation exhibitions are hosted on New Art City, allowing collectors to explore works in virtual 3D galleries.
• Decentral Art Pavilion / Venice Biennale 2022minorGTM or Marketing PartnerJAPES collection was proudly presented alongside the Decentral Art Pavilion as part of Venice Biennale 2022, expanding reach to the traditional art world.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Nifty Gateway: Established NFT art marketplace owned by Gemini, hosting drops of digital and photographic art from marquee artists. Comparable to ART3 in artist curation and collector audience.
• OpenSea: Largest general NFT marketplace and ART3's primary distribution partner. Comparable as the venue where ART3's curated drops are actually bought/sold; competes indirectly via OpenSea's own curation features.
• Christie's 3.0: Christie's on-chain NFT auction platform. Comparable to ART3 in bridging traditional photography collectors into the NFT market via curated, blue-chip drop mechanics.
• Sotheby's Metaverse: Sotheby's dedicated NFT/digital art auction vertical that has sold blue-chip digital photography NFTs. Comparable as a venue targeting the same high-end traditional-photography collector pool ART3 serves.

Emerging players

• Versify: Curated photography NFT platform selling rare photographic works on chain. Closely comparable to ART3 in narrow photography-NFT focus and single-edition curation model.
• Sedition: Curated platform for limited-edition digital art from established artists, including photography. Comparable to ART3 in artist curation and editioned/limited digital-photo sales, though with a broader art focus.

Direct peers

• SuperRare: Curated NFT art marketplace featuring single-edition works from established and emerging artists. Closely comparable to ART3 in curation model, single-edition photography/art drops, and collector focus.
• KnownOrigin: Curated NFT marketplace for digital and photographic art from independent artists. Comparable to ART3 in selection of rare 1/1 pieces and photography-friendly curation.
• MakersPlace: Curated NFT art platform focused on digital and photographic art with rare single-edition drops. Highly comparable to ART3 in artist curation and premium positioning.
• Foundation: Curated NFT marketplace for digital art with auction-style drops of 1/1 editions. Directly comparable to ART3 in curated, single-edition drop mechanics and photographer/artist onboarding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ART3