The Standard

The Art Registry Consortium (ARC) establishes an open standard for documenting and tracking physical artworks on the blockchain. Through identity management, artist-owned smart contracts and a modular token system, ARC ensures that each artwork has a secure, standardized, and immutable record of provenance, exhibition history, and ownership.

1. Identity Management

The ARC system begins with robust identity management for all ecosystem participants. Each identity has a unique ID and is associated with a wallet address, ensuring proper authentication and authorization throughout the system.

Identity Types:

Artist: Creators who deploy their own ART Contracts and mint ARTs.
Gallery: Entities that represent artists and facilitate art sales.
Institution: Museums, foundations, and other organizations that exhibit, collect, or preserve art.
Collector: Individuals or entities who own artworks and their corresponding ARTs.

Identity Information:

Name: Full name or alias of the identity.
Description: Brief description of the identity.
Image: Profile image stored on Arweave.
Links: Website or social media URLs.
Tags: Keywords associated with the identity.
Artist-specific: Date of birth, date of death (if applicable), and location.
Gallery/Institution-specific: Physical addresses.
Artist-specific: RepresentedBy - Array of gallery/institution identity IDs representing the artist.
Gallery/Institution-specific: RepresentedArtists - Array of artist identity IDs represented by the gallery/institution.

2. Artist-Owned Contracts

Each artist deploys their own ARC contract, giving them full control over their catalog and minted ARTs. These contracts follow the ARC standard, ensuring consistency while allowing flexibility in how artists document and verify their works.

Naming convention:

"ARC / Artist Name" (e.g., "ARC / Banksy")

By maintaining individual contracts, artists retain sovereignty over their body of work while ensuring interoperability across the ARC ecosystem.

3. The Artwork Registry Token (ART)

Each ART is a unique, blockchain-based record tied to a physical artwork. It contains critical metadata, ensuring traceability, authentication, and provenance tracking.

ART Fields:

Artist Identity ID: The unique identifier linking to the artist's identity in the Identity Contract.
Title: The name of the artwork.
Description: A detailed description of the artwork, its context, and significance.
Year of Creation: The year the artwork was completed.
Medium: Materials used to create the artwork (e.g., "oil on canvas," "bronze sculpture").
Dimensions: Size of the artwork, listed as height x width x depth (in cm or inches).
Edition: If the artwork is part of an edition, include the edition number and total editions (e.g., "1/10").
Series: A label used to group artworks that belong to the same thematic or conceptual body of work. This allows artists to document and organize pieces that are part of a unified vision, making it easier for collectors and institutions to understand the context of each artwork within a larger narrative.
Catalogue Inventory: [REMOVED - Catalogue Inventory should be stored in the Note field]
Image: A high-resolution image or scan of the artwork stored on Arweave.
Sales Information: [REMOVED - Sales information will be stored on-chain with events]
Certification Method: [REMOVED - Certification method is always the ART Stamp]
Exhibition History: JSON string containing an array of exhibitions with name, date, and location.
Condition Reports: JSON string containing an array of reports with date and description of the artwork's condition.
Artist Statement: [REMOVED - Artist statements should be included in the Note field]
Bibliography: JSON string containing an array of references with title, author, and page.
Keywords or Tags: An array of themes, styles, or movements related to the artwork (e.g., "surrealism," "landscape").
Location / Collection: JSON string containing location and collection information where the artwork resides.
Status: [REMOVED - Status will be determined by automated rules E.G. on sale on a marketplace]
Note: A flexible field for additional remarks, context, or annotations related to the artwork. This could include restoration notes, collector insights, special dedications, artist statements, or any other relevant information that does not fit into the predefined fields.
Royalties: Percentage of resale royalties set by the artist (in basis points, e.g., 1000 = 10%).

4. The ART Stamp – Linking Physical & Digital

To associate an ART with a physical artwork, artists must include an ART Stamp on the piece. This ensures collectors, galleries, and institutions can verify ownership on-chain.

ART Stamp Format

A label should include the following information: on the back of the artwork or a discreet location:

Artist Name

Identity ID: [Artist Identity ID]

Blockchain: [Ethereum / Arbitrum / Optimism / Base, etc.]

Contract Address: [ART Contract Address]

Token ID: [ART Token ID]

5. ART Must Follow the Physical Artwork

The ART token is not just a digital certificate—it must reflect the current owner of the physical artwork. When the artwork is sold or changes hands, the ART must be transferred to the new owner's wallet. If the ART is sold or transferred separately from the physical work and becomes separated or fractioned (where that linkage corresponds to the real world piece).

For galleries, collectors, and institutions, this means verifying the ART transfer as part of any art sale process. Failure to maintain this link undermines the provenance record and the value of the ART system.

6. Roles & Access Control

To ensure proper management of ARTs, ARC contracts implement role-based access control tied to Identities (via Identity ID), not wallet addresses, allowing artists to delegate specific permissions:

Roles

Full Admin (ARC)

The Full Admin role is assigned to the ARC team:

Can add/remove other Full Admins (via Identity ID)
Deployer of contract infrastructure
Can upgrade all contracts
Can modify all storage in Identity Contract
Can add/remove roles (via Identity ID) on Identity and ART Contracts
Can mint/update/transfer ART on any contract
Can set royalties on any ART or ART Contract

Art Contract Owner (Artist)

The Contract Owner role is assigned to the artist who deploys an ART contract:

Can transfer ownership of their ART Contract to another Identity ID
Can grant/remove roles (Custodian, Minter, Full Editor, Partial Editor) via Identity ID
Can mint/update ART and set royalties in their ART Contract

Custodian

The Custodian role is assigned to manage an Identity or ART Contract:

Can update their assigned Identity (via Identity ID) or ART Contract
Can mint/update ART and set royalties in their assigned ART Contract
Can assign roles (Minter, Full Editor, Partial Editor) via Identity ID

Minter

The Minter role is assigned to users who can mint new tokens:

Can mint and update ART in their assigned ART Contract (no royalty control)

Full Editor

The Full Editor role is assigned to users who can update token metadata:

Can update all ART in their assigned ART Contract (no royalty control)

Partial Editor

The Partial Editor role is assigned to users with limited editing capabilities:

Can update specific ART tokens they are assigned to (no royalty control)

Everyone

Can update their own Identity
Can own and transfer ART tokens they own

Why Use ARC?

Decentralized & Immutable - Forever permanent, tamper-proof provenance records.
Artist Controlled - No intermediaries, artists manage their own contracts.
Flexible & Adaptable - Works across real-time blockchain networks.
Standards Maintained - Consistent and interoperable standards across systems.

Get Started

Artists can create their ARC contract and start minting ARTs through the ARC Dashboard. Whether you're a contemporary artist, a gallery representing artists, or a collector, ARC provides new tools to establish provenance and protect the legacy of art.