Chelsea Nassib
CORNERS THE DIGITAL ART MARKET WITH TAPPAN
Corners the Digital Art Market with Tappan
Chelsea Nassib’s digital art gallery Tappan is to real estate and digital art what digital art is to form and medium: an explosion of collaborative creativity that makes the world of art accessible while not sacrificing entrepreneurship’s bottom line. Having the distinction of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 2018 feather in her cap, Nassib’s Tappan has wide resonance.
Tappan is a native digital art gallery and e-commerce platform currently revolutionizing art consumption among millennial dealers, collectors, and curators. From partnerships and high-profile procurements to a groundbreaking Residency Program in which artists like Los-Angeles based Helen Rebekah Garber and über chic Paris duo Martinet+|Texereau swap domiciles, creatives are empowered to craft experiences where organic, truly democratic art-making is the key driver. The residency program was founded in 2016 and offers Tappan artists the opportunity to apply for one to threemonth terms at Tappan Studios. It allows artists to tell their stories in a three-dimensional way that encourages more exploration by the collector than a traditional gallery space. Keen on business, Nassib found an excellent point of entry into the market. “After graduating with my BFA degree,” she says, “I found a real gap in the gallery system. I started Tappan to support young artists like myself while giving collectors more approachable access to emerging talent. We built a website to sell limited edition prints, unsure if the online art buying model was viable. We learned pretty fast.” When asked if there were differences in the taste among millennial collectors versus that of “traditional” collectors, Nassib aptly responded. “Tastes differ from person to person, but I find that unless they are investment driven, both seek authenticity and a personal connection to the work they acquire.” Take, for example, the work of LAbased artist, Helen Rebekah Garber. Garber’s work revolves around themes in feminist ideology vis-à-vis social perceptions around nurturing, spirituality, science, and medicine. You might say that Utopian societies are kind of her thing. Garber uses art as a vehicle for investigating the relationship between science, mythology, and mysticism...often drawing inspiration from the connections, parallels, and intersections between them. She also creates an aesthetic through the
use of symmetry based on mathematical relationships and sacred geometry, pattern and weaving, representational imagery, and the linguistics of ancient civilizations, to create truly wonderful works of art. As more and more galleries go online,
non‐traditional one wonders how stakeholders will continue to use means of buying and selling art to reach the masses. Nissab seems to have solved that riddle for now, carving her own space out in the online art trade. And while traditionally less tech-savvy, small and medium-sized businesses are adjusting to not only the changes in the economy but the way collectors consume art in said economy. The road ahead for the online art trade isn’t exactly clear. There have been a few hiccups. But Tappan seems to have forged a path that collectors and investors alike seem to have taken note of. “We’re proud to be a pioneer in this space. It’s been exciting to reach new audiences that we might not have been able to with just brick and mortar space. This year is going to be an exciting year for Tappan. We hope to build upon what we’re doing well has been, and that continues to be our mantra.”