MUMBAI: See.Me, the fast-growing visual social network for artists, officially launched its full-feature mobile app and social funding platform Monday night in a massive display that also showcased select users’ art on the American Eagle video billboard, the largest video billboard in Times Square. The billboard will be viewable every night at 9pm through June 16.

The centerpiece of the “Art Takes Time Square” event, which also featured performances by See.Me users DJ Spooky and TK Wonder, was a seven-minute video showcasing selected members of the See.Me community from the categories of fashion, music, photography, and art, interspersed with statements declaring that the days of traditional art, fashion, and music outlets are in the past.

“The message of last night is that the traditional gatekeepers are dead, from art critics to record labels,” said William Etundi, founder and CEO of See.Me. “That era is ending, there no longer needs to be a roadblock between artists and the global audiences that they deserve. We’re encouraging our users to show their work to the world and earn funding to make their next great project possible, and our new mobile app will make that even easier.” 

Along with celebrating See.Me’s nearly 700,000 users, the event raised funds for nonprofit arts organization Chashama, which connects art and real estate by transforming underutilized properties into work and presentation spaces.

Tonight, See.Me will demo its recently launched mobile app and  “tip-jar system” during a presentation at NY Tech Meetup. The tool allows supporters to give contributions directly to artists in exchange for rewards that the artists define.  The artists develop an ongoing relationship with their supporters, beyond the traditional project based relationship of crowdfunding.   The event can be streamed here through the video link at www.nytm.org.

See.Me recently launched after receiving $1.5 million from investors, and is continually expanding its community to additional creative pursuits beyond the art world including photography, fashion, and music.  Members come from over 180 countries worldwide and include renowned artists like Questlove and Reggie Watts as well as emerging painters, musicians, and photographers, with thousands of new members joining each day.