Shayan Vahabzadeh, translator.  Erfan Abdolahzadeh, Art manager: In recent times, art has become one of the top markets. The greatest economic establishments like banks and international brands, have been trying to tie themselves to the world of art and benefit from its iconinc status.

For this reason, NFT related news and developmens are always in the spotlight.

It is common knowledge in the business world, art is a top priority for a reason and there is ample evidence to support this.

One example is this headline in the media: "Euro's unprecedented fall in the past two decades."

Another example is the infamous 2008 recession where gold fell in value and hardly recovered.

Meanwhile, it has been proven that even through the hardest times like the COVID-19 pandemic, the only business that tends to prevail and sustain itself is Art.

It is abundantly clear that works from Artists like Picaso, Da Vinci, Francis Bacon, Van Gogh and even modern Artists like Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Jeff koons and many others, do not decrease in value no matter the circumstance. We do not see any new work from deceased artists and modern artists tend to keep a stable market due to them following distinct and strict rules.

Since the year 2000, there has been a debate on what the art market actually is. Christie's and Sotheby's have had numerous legal battles over price increases and market disruptions. But very quickly, the elite members of society realized that the true value lies in signatures. This phenomenon became known as "identity economy".

In the art market, signatures are bought and sold. Reputation of the artist and the quality of their work contribute heavily to the value of their signature‌ and its investment potential. Additionally, the seller and the dealer of the artworks are important factors. An expensive signature means the artwork is also expensive.

In the business world, art is considered a product of media; Therefore, a work's activity in media, deeply contributes to its value.

In this market, signatures are the valuable products. One can argue that an artwork's content plays a role in pricing but in actuality, it is the signature that gives an artwork its value.

Picaso was never a considered a great artist by critics from his time but thanks to media and art dealers, he is now one of the most expensive and famous artists in the world.

For this reason, Artists, collectors and auction houses in Middle East must now put a considerable amount of effort into their branding and give more value to their signatures.