Magzoid Magazine - Luxury Magazine in the Creative Space | April 2022
The April 2022 issue of Magzoid Magazine features the team that led Sikka Art & Design Festival 2022 to success and the second cover has an amazing artwork by Christiane Vleugels, an artist from Belgium. The magazine features an Exclusive Interview with Ralf Glabischnig, Founder, Crypto Oasis, Messages from influential persona in the UAE for Ramadan Kareem, and Sikka Art & Design Festival 2022 and many more.
Magzoid Magazine is a luxury magazine leading the creative space of the MENA region. The different genres covered by Magzoid Magazine include exceptional designs, arts & culture, interviews of influential business leaders and industry veterans, various creative and design aspects across different industry verticals, luxury lifestyle, creative branding, fashion and jewelry brands, highlights from corporates, and much more. Magzoid Magazine is a leading media platform in the creative segment.
The April 2022 issue of Magzoid Magazine features the team that led Sikka Art & Design Festival 2022 to success and the second cover has an amazing artwork by Christiane Vleugels, an artist from Belgium. The magazine features an Exclusive Interview with Ralf Glabischnig, Founder, Crypto Oasis, Messages from influential persona in the UAE for Ramadan Kareem, and Sikka Art & Design Festival 2022 and many more.
Magzoid Magazine is a luxury magazine leading the creative space of the MENA region. The different genres covered by Magzoid Magazine include exceptional designs, arts & culture, interviews of influential business leaders and industry veterans, various creative and design aspects across different industry verticals, luxury lifestyle, creative branding, fashion and jewelry brands, highlights from corporates, and much more. Magzoid Magazine is a leading media platform in the creative segment.
LEADERSHIP TALKS Ralf Glabischnig Founder, Crypto Oasis Ralf Glabischnig is an entrepreneur and founder of Crypto Oasis who is committed to developing the blockchain ecosystem both in Switzerland and worldwide. He is one of the Initiators of the Swiss Crypto Valley, one of the world-leading Blockchain ecosystems in Switzerland. Based on the experience and success of Crypto Valley, he and his team have set up Crypto Oasis as the ecosystem in the Middle East. Through a strategic partnership with the DMCC, the DMCC Crypto Centre was launched in Dubai. With half of the Blockchain-based businesses registered within the Freezone, it is the core of the community in the region. Here is what he has to say about his journey, the blockchain ecosystem, and its stakeholders. Exclusive to Magzoid You have prominently established yourself as a seasoned entrepreneur and businessman. We would like to know about your very first step in the world of cryptocurrency. It all happened coincidentally. I moved to Zug, Switzerland in 2005 and opened my first company in 2009. Back then we had no idea about bitcoin. In 2013, we opened a business center in Zug, a co-working space for all kinds of companies. Many firms were knocking on our doors looking for blockchain companies and it was then that we started digging deep into the industry of blockchain. I come from a software development and strategy consultancy background, and we saw various people coming to Zug. So, to support this we began inviting startups to join us in the Crypto labs that we started. In the year 2015-2016, we started a blockchain competition where instead of investing in startups we gave out our prize money of $100,000 for the best idea in blockchain insurance, finance, and real estate. It was then that Crypto Valley, a leading blockchain and cryptographic technology ecosystem happened to us. How does Blockchain influence the ecosystem of the creatives and vice versa? Blockchain is cutting out the middleman. In the traditional process different people are involved in between the creatives and the customers. With blockchain technology combined with social media, we were able to cut out a lot of these middlemen. If a young artist creates a painting and wants to sell it, he probably gets $500 for the first painting he sells through a traditional channel out of which $150-200 would stay with him. But with social media on one hand and blockchain on the other, he would NFT are much more than only art, they have so much potential utility to redefine ownership. be able to get the whole $500 or probably at least $480, since $20 goes for running his business. This makes the entrepreneurs get closer to the customers not only on social media but also in transactions. Blockchain opens new doors towards boosting the creative economy. What are your thoughts about it? There are successful digital art projects in the NFT space like “Crypto punks” and ‘Bored Apes’. They have not tried to bring the physical world into the NFT world, like a tokenized Picasso, they have been created in the digital world and are now expanding into the physical world. I believe, what we see right now is the creation of the fundament for the metaverse. And it is important how we define and position ourselves as individuals and organisation in this new world. We can own and create NFTs which are existing in both worlds, like Nike does with the partnership and takeover of RTFKT as an early mover, or just consuming and following the new trends. It needs creativity to get into this new Metaverse space, not just a 24 April 2022 www.magzoid.com
LEADERSHIP TALKS www.magzoid.com April 2022 25
- Page 1: APRIL 2022 The team that led Sikka
- Page 5 and 6: THERE’S A NEW CARDLESS EXPERIENCE
- Page 7 and 8: Art That Matters Advertisers advert
- Page 9 and 10: ARTIST STORIES | Inspire & Empower
- Page 11 and 12: PICTURE STORY PHOTO BY ANNIE SPRATT
- Page 13 and 14: “I want to encourage people to be
- Page 15 and 16: Noor Khalfan Alroumi Project Specia
- Page 17 and 18: ART NEWS Read more at www.magzoid.c
- Page 19 and 20: COVER ARTIST Hyperrealism By Christ
- Page 21 and 22: ART NEWS Read more at www.magzoid.c
- Page 23: “I’m interested in bringing the
- Page 27 and 28: PICTURE STORY PHOTO BY AHMED ALDAIE
- Page 29 and 30: FEATURED ARTISTS Resin Art by Laure
- Page 31 and 32: “Even if people don't believe in
- Page 33 and 34: The gallery program was complemente
- Page 35 and 36: PICTURE STORY PHOTO BY SALMAN SIDHE
- Page 37 and 38: “Every stroke is a decision. Know
- Page 39 and 40: NFTs also made their World Art Duba
- Page 41 and 42: children’s choir performed Ishy B
- Page 43 and 44: “I don’t prefer answering perso
- Page 45 and 46: PICTURE STORY PHOTO BY VICTOR MALYU
- Page 47 and 48: ARTISTS IN FOCUS Her art and style,
- Page 49 and 50: Thanks to #DestinationsDubai and #D
- Page 52 and 53: ARTIST STORIES | INSPIRE & EMPOWER
- Page 54 and 55: SPECIAL DAYS World Art Day Every ye
- Page 56 and 57: ART JOURNEY Most Popular Art Moveme
- Page 58 and 59: ART JOURNEY SURREALISM This artisti
- Page 60 and 61: ART EVENTS Art Exhibitions and Even
- Page 62 and 63: ARTIST STORIES | INSPIRE & EMPOWER
- Page 64 and 65: RAMADAN 2022 Iftar Delights Levant
- Page 66 and 67: ART FACTS Mona Lisa was painted wit
- Page 68 and 69: FEATURED ARTWORKS This piece shows
- Page 70 and 71: FEATURED ARTWORKS kids The one that
- Page 72 and 73: TRIVIA Where is artist Zoey Frank b
LEADERSHIP TALKS<br />
Ralf Glabischnig<br />
Founder, Crypto Oasis<br />
Ralf Glabischnig is an entrepreneur and founder of Crypto Oasis who is committed to develop<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>the</strong> blockcha<strong>in</strong> ecosystem both <strong>in</strong> Switzerland and worldwide. He is one of <strong>the</strong> Initiators of<br />
<strong>the</strong> Swiss Crypto Valley, one of <strong>the</strong> world-lead<strong>in</strong>g Blockcha<strong>in</strong> ecosystems <strong>in</strong> Switzerland.<br />
Based on <strong>the</strong> experience and success of Crypto Valley, he and his team have set up Crypto<br />
Oasis as <strong>the</strong> ecosystem <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Middle East. Through a strategic partnership with <strong>the</strong> DMCC,<br />
<strong>the</strong> DMCC Crypto Centre was launched <strong>in</strong> Dubai. With half of <strong>the</strong> Blockcha<strong>in</strong>-based bus<strong>in</strong>esses<br />
registered with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Freezone, it is <strong>the</strong> core of <strong>the</strong> community <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> region. Here is what he has<br />
to say about his journey, <strong>the</strong> blockcha<strong>in</strong> ecosystem, and its stakeholders.<br />
Exclusive to <strong>Magzoid</strong><br />
You have prom<strong>in</strong>ently<br />
established yourself<br />
as a seasoned<br />
entrepreneur and<br />
bus<strong>in</strong>essman. We<br />
would like to know about your<br />
very first step <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> world of<br />
cryptocurrency.<br />
It all happened co<strong>in</strong>cidentally. I<br />
moved to Zug, Switzerland <strong>in</strong> 2005<br />
and opened my first company<br />
<strong>in</strong> 2009. Back <strong>the</strong>n we had no<br />
idea about bitco<strong>in</strong>. In 2013, we<br />
opened a bus<strong>in</strong>ess center <strong>in</strong> Zug,<br />
a co-work<strong>in</strong>g space for all k<strong>in</strong>ds<br />
of companies. Many firms were<br />
knock<strong>in</strong>g on our doors look<strong>in</strong>g for<br />
blockcha<strong>in</strong> companies and it was<br />
<strong>the</strong>n that we started digg<strong>in</strong>g deep<br />
<strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>dustry of blockcha<strong>in</strong>.<br />
I come from a software<br />
development and strategy<br />
consultancy background, and we<br />
saw various people com<strong>in</strong>g to Zug.<br />
So, to support this we began <strong>in</strong>vit<strong>in</strong>g<br />
startups to jo<strong>in</strong> us <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Crypto labs<br />
that we started.<br />
In <strong>the</strong> year 2015-2016, we started<br />
a blockcha<strong>in</strong> competition where<br />
<strong>in</strong>stead of <strong>in</strong>vest<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> startups<br />
we gave out our prize money<br />
of $100,000 for <strong>the</strong> best idea <strong>in</strong><br />
blockcha<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>surance, f<strong>in</strong>ance,<br />
and real estate. It was <strong>the</strong>n that<br />
Crypto Valley, a lead<strong>in</strong>g blockcha<strong>in</strong><br />
and cryptographic technology<br />
ecosystem happened to us.<br />
How does Blockcha<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence<br />
<strong>the</strong> ecosystem of <strong>the</strong> creatives<br />
and vice versa?<br />
Blockcha<strong>in</strong> is cutt<strong>in</strong>g out <strong>the</strong><br />
middleman. In <strong>the</strong> traditional<br />
process different people are<br />
<strong>in</strong>volved <strong>in</strong> between <strong>the</strong> creatives<br />
and <strong>the</strong> customers. With blockcha<strong>in</strong><br />
technology comb<strong>in</strong>ed with social<br />
media, we were able to cut out a<br />
lot of <strong>the</strong>se middlemen. If a young<br />
artist creates a pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g and wants<br />
to sell it, he probably gets $500 for<br />
<strong>the</strong> first pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g he sells through<br />
a traditional channel out of which<br />
$150-200 would stay with him. But<br />
with social media on one hand and<br />
blockcha<strong>in</strong> on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r, he would<br />
NFT are much more than<br />
only art, <strong>the</strong>y have so<br />
much potential utility to<br />
redef<strong>in</strong>e ownership.<br />
be able to get <strong>the</strong> whole $500 or<br />
probably at least $480, s<strong>in</strong>ce $20<br />
goes for runn<strong>in</strong>g his bus<strong>in</strong>ess. This<br />
makes <strong>the</strong> entrepreneurs get closer<br />
to <strong>the</strong> customers not only on social<br />
media but also <strong>in</strong> transactions.<br />
Blockcha<strong>in</strong> opens new doors<br />
towards boost<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> creative<br />
economy. What are your thoughts<br />
about it?<br />
There are successful digital art<br />
projects <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> NFT space like<br />
“Crypto punks” and ‘Bored Apes’.<br />
They have not tried to br<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />
physical world <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> NFT world,<br />
like a tokenized Picasso, <strong>the</strong>y have<br />
been created <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> digital world<br />
and are now expand<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong><br />
physical world. I believe, what we<br />
see right now is <strong>the</strong> creation of <strong>the</strong><br />
fundament for <strong>the</strong> metaverse. And<br />
it is important how we def<strong>in</strong>e and<br />
position ourselves as <strong>in</strong>dividuals<br />
and organisation <strong>in</strong> this new world.<br />
We can own and create NFTs<br />
which are exist<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> both worlds,<br />
like Nike does with <strong>the</strong> partnership<br />
and takeover of RTFKT as an<br />
early mover, or just consum<strong>in</strong>g<br />
and follow<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> new trends. It<br />
needs creativity to get <strong>in</strong>to this<br />
new Metaverse space, not just a<br />
24<br />
<strong>April</strong> <strong>2022</strong><br />
www.magzoid.com