1. About the brand
ARTBAT LIVE: HK's unique tournament & platform for digital artists
WHAT:
ARTBAT is a live art battle for digital artists in Hong Kong. It now also evolves to an educational platform offering programs for artist-wanna bes.
WHY:
Inspired by global art battles like LIMITS Global, ARTBAT LIVE’s founder hopes to transfer the culture of “digital art + esports” to Hong Kong, and nurture it to become a next-gen entertainment.
HOW:
They recruit artists from mainly Hong Kong & Asia to enter in their tournaments. Each tournament has around 4 rounds + 1 semi-finals + 1 final. Each round, 2 contestants will compete and be judged by audiences and different art/cultural veterans while drawing themed digital art pieces live and timed.
After accumulated a pool of artists, they decided to leverage and convert their knowledge to assets – by monetising their drawing skills in ARTBAT Academy, programs designed by ARTBAT & artists for students in schools and corporates who wish to learn digital art.
WHAT’S GOING ON NOW:
They’ve currently organized 13 seasons. Winners have different prizes including cash prize, drawing pads and having their winning pieces converted to NFTs. They will organize new school tournament in April 2023.
They’ve also kickstarted regular ARTBAT Academy programs in 3 primary schools since they started running the business line by the end of 2022
2. About the founders
Mike Ha
CEO & Co-founder
Christine So
COO & Co-founder
The Vision
Create the Artist Platform by Art Tech x E-Sports
By leveraging latest technologies to empower artists and showcase their talents in various forms, including tech-driven merchandise
3. Challenges and opportunity
Social movement hits, then COVID
Challenge
Right after ARTBAT conducted its first season, Hong Kong underwent waves of retreat in cultural exchanges due to the 2019 political movement and then immediately COVID lockdowns. The crave for new entertainments and ventures were put on halt.
It was also costly to rent a physical battle place given it was not profitable at first.
Solution
They shifted entirely to online tournaments for a few seasons then resumed hybrid from 2021 onwards, and gathered a number of sponsors to help offload some costs.
They also shifted their marketing beyond Hong Kong, where they gather most momentum in SE Asia, even Middle East and Europe like Egypt and Ukraine.
They started ARTBAT Academy to pivot their business to further generate profit for artists and through sharing their skills to aspire those who wish to become a digital artist themeslves.
4. Brand Development Timeline
2017
ARTBAT LIVE founded with its first season
2020
Hosted university battles
2021
Seasons sponsored by Wacom
Seasons sponsored by 3, the telecom service company
ARTEE.VERSES with @person.tees
2022
Seasons sponsored by Xencelabs
Offline NFT exhibition sponsored by 3
Started ARTBAT Academy
5. The Future
Prioritise ARTBAT Academy, expand IP overseas
They will continue to expand their business via 2 streams: one is through ARTBAT Academy, another is to expand the IP to overseas and start battles there.
