By Josephine Akaerr, Special Correspondent

artdey is expanding the technology marketplace designed to support and give a broader reach to independent artists from Africa.

Since June 2020, artdey has positioned itself as a hotspot for emerging contemporary artists and a one-stop shop for art collectors around the world, with sales in several countries. Modeled after physical galleries such as Nike Art Gallery in Lagos, artdey aims to provide an exceptional educational and customer experience. In addition, artdey has organised popular physical popups in relaxed venues in Lagos, offering locals the opportunity to shop contemporary African art both on and offline.

Speaking on current and future plans for the tech marketplace, Chioma Onyenwe, artdey cofounder stated,

“With the dearth of tourism caused by the pandemic, this curated platform gives African independent artists, underrepresented in the global art markets, access to global collectors, thereby increasing their chances to earn a living. In time, we hope to offer online auctions, similar to global standards set by sites such as artfinder.com and expand our database represented artists over the continent. We are also expanding our physical popups and coming to the capital of Nigeria, Abuja.”

Recently, the brand added documentary photography to the platform, where images captured will create a sense of community among other storytellers while stimulating the imaginations.

The move will bring together the country’s largest mobile operator, O2, with cable operator Virgin Media and its MVNO Virgin Mobile. The JV will have a combined annual revenue of £11 billion (US$15.56 billion). Once complete, the combined entity will have an enterprise value of almost £31.5 billion.