On the earth of high-priced art, galleries often act as gatekeepers. Their selective curation process is a key reason galleries in major cities often feature work from the identical batch of artists. The system limits opportunities for emerging artists and leaves great art undiscovered.
NALA was founded by Benjamin Gulak ’22 to disrupt the gallery model. The corporate’s digital platform, which was began as a part of an MIT class project, allows artists to list their art and uses machine learning and data science to supply personalized recommendations to art lovers.
By providing a much larger pool of artwork to buyers, the corporate is dismantling the exclusive barriers put up by traditional galleries and efficiently connecting creators with collectors.
“There’s a lot talent on the market that has never had the chance to be seen outside of the artists’ local market,” Gulak says. “We’re opening the art world to all artists, making a true meritocracy.”
NALA takes no commission from artists, as an alternative charging buyers an 11.5 percent commission on top of the artist’s listed price. Today greater than 20,000 art lovers are using NALA’s platform, and the corporate has registered greater than 8,500 artists.
“My goal is for NALA to turn into the dominant place where art is discovered, bought, and sold online,” Gulak says. “The gallery model has existed for such an extended time frame that they’re the tastemakers within the art world. Nonetheless, most buyers never realize how restrictive the industry has been.”
From founder to student to founder again
Growing up in Canada, Gulak worked hard to get into MIT, participating in science fairs and robotic competitions throughout highschool. When he was 16, he created an electrical, one-wheeled motorcycle that got him on the favored television show “Shark Tank” and was later named one in every of the highest inventions of the yr by .
Gulak was accepted into MIT in 2009 but withdrew from his undergrad program shortly after entering to launch a business across the media exposure and capital from “Shark Tank.” Following a whirlwind decade wherein he raised greater than $12 million and sold hundreds of units globally, Gulak decided to return to MIT to finish his degree, switching his major from mechanical engineering to at least one combining computer science, economics, and data science.
“I spent 10 years of my life constructing my business, and realized to get the corporate where I wanted it to be, it might take one other decade, and that wasn’t what I desired to be doing,” Gulak says. “I missed learning, and I missed the tutorial side of my life. I mainly begged MIT to take me back, and it was the very best decision I ever made.”
In the course of the ups and downs of running his company, Gulak took up painting to de-stress. Art had at all times been a component of Gulak’s life, and he had even done a nice arts study abroad program in Italy during highschool. Determined to try selling his art, he collaborated with some outstanding art galleries in London, Miami, and St. Moritz. Eventually he began connecting artists he’d met on travels from emerging markets like Cuba, Egypt, and Brazil to the gallery owners he knew.
“The outcomes were incredible because these artists were used to selling their work to tourists for $50, and suddenly they’re hanging work in a flowery gallery in London and getting 5,000 kilos,” Gulak says. “It was the identical artist, same talent, but different buyers.”
On the time, Gulak was in his third yr at MIT and wondering what he’d do after graduation. He thought he wanted to start out a brand new business, but every industry he checked out was dominated by tech giants. Every industry, that’s, except the art world.
“The art industry is archaic,” Gulak says. “Galleries have monopolies over small groups of artists, and so they have absolute control over the costs. The buyers are told what the worth is, and almost in every single place you look within the industry, there’s inefficiencies.”
At MIT, Gulak was studying the recommender engines which are used to populate social media feeds and personalize show and music suggestions, and he envisioned something similar for the visual arts.
“I assumed, why, when I am going on the large art platforms, do I see horrible combos of artwork despite the fact that I’ve had accounts on these platforms for years?” Gulak says. “I’d get recent emails every week titled ‘Latest art on your collection,’ and the platform had no idea about my taste or budget.”
For a category project at MIT, Gulak built a system that attempted to predict the varieties of art that will do well in a gallery. By his final yr at MIT, he had realized that working directly with artists could be a more promising approach.
“Online platforms typically take a 30 percent fee, and galleries can take a further 50 percent fee, so the artist finally ends up with a small percentage of every online sale, but the customer also has to pay a luxury import duty on the complete price,” Gulak explains. “Which means there’s an enormous amount of fat in the center, and that’s where our direct-to-artist business model is available in.”
Today NALA, which stands for Networked Artistic Learning Algorithm, onboards artists by having them upload artwork and fill out a questionnaire about their style. They will begin uploading work immediately and select their listing price.
The corporate began through the use of AI to match art with its most definitely buyer. Gulak notes that not all art will sell — “should you’re making rock paintings there is probably not an enormous market” — and artists may price their work higher than buyers are willing to pay, however the algorithm works to place art in front of the most definitely buyer based on style preferences and budget. NALA also handles sales and shipments, providing artists with one hundred pc of their list price from every sale.
“By not taking commissions, we’re very pro artists,” Gulak says. “We also allow all artists to participate, which is exclusive on this space. NALA is built by artists for artists.”
Last yr, NALA also began allowing buyers to take a photograph of something they like and see similar artwork from its database.
“In museums, people will take a photograph of masterpieces they’ll never give you the chance to afford, and now they will find living artists producing the identical style that they might actually put of their home,” Gulak says. “It makes art more accessible.”
Championing artists
Ten years ago, Ben Gulak was visiting Egypt when he discovered a powerful mural on the road. Gulak found the local artist, Ahmed Nofal, on Instagram and acquired some work. Later, he brought Nofal to Dubai to take part in World Art Dubai. The artist’s work was so well-received he ended up creating murals for the Royal British Museum in London and Red Bull. Most recently, Nofal and Gulak collaborated together during Art Basel 2024 doing a mural on the Museum of Graffiti in Miami.
Gulak has worked personally with most of the artists on his platform. For greater than a decade he’s travelled to Cuba buying art and delivering art supplies to friends. He’s also worked with artists as they work to secure immigration visas.
“Many individuals claim they need to help the art world, but in point of fact, they often fall back on the identical outdated business models,” says Gulak. “Art isn’t just my passion — it’s a lifestyle for me. I’ve been on every side of the art world: as a painter selling my work through galleries, as a collector with my office brimming with art, and as a collaborator working alongside incredible talents like Raheem Saladeen Johnson. When artists visit, we create together, sharing ideas and brainstorming. These experiences, combined with my background as each an artist and a pc scientist, give me a novel perspective. I’m attempting to use technology to offer artists with unparalleled access to the worldwide market and shake things up.”