LG Broadens NFT Digital Art Partnership With Blackdove To Include Corporate Projects

February 16, 2022 by Dave Haynes

LG has extended a partnership with the digital art curation platform Blackdove from residential into commercial digital signage projects, making it possible to put large format digital artworks on to video walls in venues like office tower lobbies and corporate reception areas.

Available in markets worldwide starting this quarter, says PR, Blackdove curation software can be bundled with LG LED signage products including LG MAGNIT, LG LED Bloc, LED All-in-One and fine-pitch LED signage to deliver the gallery’s vast library of digital art assets. Hand-picked by Blackdove’s curatorial team, the selection of artworks by contemporary artists such as Jonathan McCabe, Kenneth Wayne, Meghan Cheng, Franck Lefebvre and Jamie Scott encompass a broad range of subjects and styles for both new and experienced fans of digital art.

“LG is delighted to partner with Blackdove as this partnership allows us to engage our LED signage customers with a benefit that is unique to LG,” says Paik Ki-mun, an SVP and head of LG’s Information Display business. “The option to transform LG LED signage into digital canvases in spaces such as luxury residential, corporate lobbies, hospitals and retail stores is something we think the public will have a very positive reaction to.”

LG USA had announced a partnership with Blackdove for the residential market last fall.

“Digital art is the first form of art in history that can be experienced natively by the whole world in an instant, giving it universal appeal,” says Marc Billings, CEO of Blackdove. “This makes possible an exponential increase in both the amount and diversity of art, as well as a path to universal access to affordable art enjoyment and ownership.”

The digital art includes the ability to use artworks that have the very-buzzy-at-the-moment attribute of having NFTs (non-fungible tokens) tied to them. Blackdove ties into NFT platforms like Opensea.

I think curated digital art is a good option to add for any large format display manufacturer, and a quick look at Blackdove’s partner page indicates LG has company in Samsung, Sony, Nanolumens and Digital Projection. But I don’t know if those partnerships work in the same way as this one.

While the biggest brands and heavily-funded startups may have the dollars to engage an experiential design agency to come up with something very special and unique, there will be a lot of smaller budget, less ambitious video wall jobs that will also need amazing visuals, but may not have the budget for original creative. Selecting from a digital gallery is one solution. Subscriptions start at $99 a month for residential usage, but I don’t see anything referencing corporate usage. More $$, we’re safely assuming here.