Hello London venues!
Welcome to our Vooglue Blog. You’ve likely been invited to participate in our DAG Smart TV app pilot, so we’ve put together this article to explain what we’re building, why we’re building it, and how your venue can get involved.
What is the Smart TV App Pilot?
At Vooglue, we believe fine art should be enjoyed by everyone and celebrated in public spaces. With the potential to strengthen communities and make the everyday world more vibrant, we want art to be easier to discover, trust, display and participate in.
The London pilot is the next step in turning that vision into reality.
The London pilot is a free opportunity involving our new Smart TV app, designed for venues that already display art, or would like to. It allows venues to showcase local artworks in their space while giving customers the opportunity to purchase affordable, authentic fine art collectibles linked to those artworks via QR code.
The pilot combines three elements within one simple experience:
- Physical fine art on venue walls
- Fine art collectibles minted by the artist and authentically connected to the original artwork.
- A smart TV display inside the venue that showcases the artworks and gives patrons a simple QR code purchase opportunity.
Our goal is to test a new model where physical art display, digital collectibles and Smart TV discovery work together inside cafes, restaurants, bars and hotels to create value for artists, venues and customers.
- For venues, participation can create a more distinctive environment, support local artists, offer patrons something new and exciting to engage with, and introduce a potential passive commission stream from sales connected to displayed artworks.
- For artists, it creates a new way to earn from works that may otherwise provide visibility but not sales.
- For patrons, it offers an affordable way to start collecting fine art and to enjoy that collection at home.
Fine Art Collectibles
A fine art collectible is a digital collectible piece created by the artist and connected to the original physical artwork.
Unlike a standalone digital image, it is created from the artist’s own artwork record and linked provenance information. This gives buyers confidence that the collectible is genuinely connected to both the artist and the original artwork.
Vooglue provides the authenticity layer around the artwork and its physical provenance, while our Decentralised Art Gallery (DAG) provides the digital layer that allows fine art collectibles to be purchased, displayed and eventually traded or sold through a broader digital marketplace. You can find more information about Vooglue and DAG below.
How the model works
Let’s say an artist has an original artwork valued at $500.
Instead of only offering the original physical artwork for sale, the artist can mint 100 fine art collectibles associated with that piece. In this example, each collectible would cost $5.
This creates a much more affordable entry point for customers. Someone waiting for a coffee may not buy a $500 original artwork on the spot, but may happily purchase a $5 fine art collectible from an artist whose work they have just discovered in a venue they enjoy.
The result is a model where:
- Artists gain an additional sales channel for displayed artworks
- Venues receive a small passive commission opportunity while creating more engaging environments
- Customers gain a simple and affordable way to begin collecting fine art
The timing is encouraging, as the global art market returned to growth in 2025 and reached an estimated US$59.6 billion, while the UK remained one of the world’s major art markets with sales estimated at US$10.5 billion.
Art Basel and UBS also reported that while overall market value declined in 2024, the number of art-market transactions grew, particularly strong in lower-priced segments. In other words, the more accessible end of the art market is becoming increasingly important.
This is exactly where Vooglue and DAG are focused: making fine art easier and more affordable to discover, enjoy and collect.
Benefits for Venues
The pilot is designed to be low-effort and simple to run while providing meaningful benefits. Participating venues can:
- Create a more interesting, local and culturally engaging atmosphere
- Support local artists without having to operate as a gallery.
- Provide patrons with something new to discover or talk about while visiting the venue.
- Receive a passive commission entitlement of 7.5% on each fine art collectible sale associated with artworks they have displayed.
For example, if a $500 artwork has 100 fine art collectibles minted at $5 each, the total collectible pool is $500. If all 100 collectibles sell, the venue’s 7.5% entitlement would be $37.50, or roughly $40, from that one artwork alone. With multiple artworks on display, those commissions can accumulate overtime.
Participation in the pilot is free. The main requirement is that the venue has, or creates, a VooGlue-enabled art display and uses a compatible Smart TV.
Why the smart TV matters
A fine art collectible has limited utility if it only sits on a phone.
The DAG Smart TV app changes that by allowing buyers to display their collectible on their own television at home, either individually, alongside the artwork information, or as part of a slideshow.
This transforms the collectible into a piece that people can actively enjoy in their living space rather than just something stored in a digital account.
It is also one of the key components of our pilot. We want to understand whether the ability to display fine art collectibles at home increases the appeal of purchasing them at venues.
Digital art is becoming a more visible part of the wider art world. Reuters recently reported that digital art represented about 3% of the global art market in 2025, up from 1% in 2024, showing that this category is still young but growing.
The Pilot: How Venues Can Participate
Getting started involves two simple steps for venues.
Step 1: Use Vooglue to get artwork on walls
If your venue does not already have a VooGlue art display, you can organise one through the VooGlue platform.
- Simply log into Vooglue and open ‘Artists Near Me’.
- Browse available local artworks, select the pieces you like, and build a shortlist. On mobile, you can select artworks by tapping on them, and these will be marked by a green tick. You can select or unselect multiple artworks until you have a preferred group.
- Once you are happy with your selections, click Organise Hanging. This request comes to the Vooglue team, and we coordinate the hanging process with the relevant parties.
Once the artworks are installed on the wall, the artist, venue owner or another authorised person scans each artwork QR code. This registers the artwork at your venue and links it to the DAG Smart TV system.
Step 2: Set up the Smart TV app
The DAG Smart TV app currently runs on compatible Google TV and Android TV devices.
Suitable displays are widely available and do not need to be expensive for venues- for example, the Smart Google TV or similar models are budget friendly options. As a current UK example, TechRadar reported the TCL 32S5400 Smart Google TV, with a list price of £179, is often available for under £150.
Venues should check compatibility before purchase and confirm that the TV supports Google TV or Android TV apps.
Once the TV is in place, the setup is simple:
- Turn on the TV.
- Search for DAG or VooGlue in the TV app store (Google TV and Android TV apps are generally installed through the Google Play Store).
- Install and launch the DAG / VooGlue smart TV app.
- Scan the login QR code displayed on the TV using your phone. If your venue is already logged into the Vooglue website on that phone, the smart TV app will log in automatically.
- Select Slideshow
The app will automatically recognise the artworks registered to your venue and display them. Where collectibles have been minted, purchase QR codes will also appear on the screen.
The Customer Experience
Customers see artworks on the wall and those featured on the Smart TV display. If they like the artwork, they can simply scan the QR code with their phone, view the details, and purchase a fine art collectible in a few short seconds. Later, they can display the artwork at home by using the DAG Smart TV app on their own television.
There is no need for venues to manually build slideshows, upload the images, manage transactions or explain blockchain and NFTs to patrons. The experience is as straightforward as: See the art. Scan the code. Buy the collectible. Display it at home.
The problem we are trying to solve
Many talented artists struggle to gain gallery representation, with VooGlue’s own analysis estimating that around 94% of artists are not represented by galleries. While this is a VooGlue estimate rather than an official census, it clearly highlights that gallery capacity is limited, and many capable artists need alternative ways to display and sell their work.
This is why VooGlue was created. In simple words, Vooglue is a global art platform that connects artists with venues looking to display artwork. Over time, we’ve built additional technology around this network of artists, artworks and venues. One of those innovations is our Decentralised Art Gallery (DAG), which adds a digital layer to the VooGlue ecosystem by enabling authentic fine art collectibles to be created from physical artworks.
Built by artists, for artists, Vooglue exists to connect artists with venues and bring fine art into everyday community spaces where it can be enjoyed by all. Non-gallery venues such as cafés, restaurants, bars, hotels and community spaces are excellent places for local art to be seen, as they already have foot traffic, atmosphere, and engaged audiences.
However, people typically visit these venues to enjoy a coffee, meal or drink- not to make a $500 or $1,000 fine art purchase. As a result, artists may gain visibility but not always attract sales. Venues enjoy the atmosphere created by original art, but may receive little direct financial benefit from having the works on display. Customers might love an artwork, but the original physical piece may simply be outside their budget.
The DAG Smart TV pilot is designed to explore a solution to this challenge.
Benefits for Artists
Digital fine art collectibles create a new way for artists to earn from artworks that are already on public display. Our model provides a lower-cost alternative while remaining authentically connected to the original artwork. It also allows art to reach broader audiences who may never visit commercial galleries, but who regularly spend time in cafés, restaurants, and other community venues.
This matters because artist incomes can be incredibly unpredictable. A 2024 DACS report on UK visual artists found that median income for visual artists was £12,500 per year, down 47% since 2010, while more than 80% of artists described their earnings as “unstable” or “very unstable”.
VooGlue and DAG are not claiming that fine art collectibles solve every challenge artists face. However, they may create a practical additional sales channel for artists exhibiting in non-gallery venues.
How artists enable the purchase opportunity
For an digital artwork to be available for purchase on the Smart TV app, artists must mint them as fine art collectibles through Vooglue. This can be done when adding the artwork to our platform, or later from the ‘Manage Art’ area.
The current minting cost is AUD $5 or USD $3. In many cases, artists can recover that small upfront cost from the sale of a single collectible. Using the earlier example, if the original artwork is valued at $500 and 100 collectibles are minted at $5 each, the artist receives most of each collectible sale after the venue’s 7.5% entitlement.
If collectibles are not minted, the artwork can still appear in the Smart TV slideshow, but customers will not be able to purchase associated collectibles. That is why minting is a critical step for artists who want to participate fully in the pilot.
What we’re hoping to learn
This London pilot is designed to help us better understand how people engage with fine art collectibles in cafés, restaurants, and other hospitality settings.
We’re particularly interested in learning what marketing prompts or materials are required for patrons to buy fine art collectibles in a hospitality setting. The insights from the test will help us refine the experience and shape future development.
Interested in participating?
We are inviting selected London venues with suitable wall space and an interest in supporting artists to take part in the pilot. This pilot gives venues the opportunity to be part of an early innovation that sits at the intersection of local art, digital collecting, Smart TV display and venue-based discovery.
Participation is free. Venues will only need a VooGlue-enabled art display and a compatible Google TV or Android TV display for the smart TV app.
If your venue would like to be involved in this exciting opportunity, we’d love to hear from you. The VooGlue team can help you organise artwork displays, understand the setup process, and get your venue ready to participate.
Thank you for taking the time to read about the pilot. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact via email at marketing@vooglue.com.
The Vooglue Team