POPC in Dubai gifts Mideast's first artist marketplace

Amid the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dubai gifted the Arabian Gulf the region's first artist marketplace in July, aptly called POPC.

The start-up has launched a variety of merchandise, such as T-shirts, hoodies, mugs, canvas and framed prints, conceptualised by young Middle East-based entrepreneurs and artists.

Amna Aijaz co-founder and head of design, POPC, quickly figured that there was no online pop culture artist marketplace in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, where artists could easily upload and sell their designs at no cost or hassle. Amna's findings stem from her eight-year immersive experience in the creative industry and pop culture. She was born in the Maldives and moved to Dubai at the age of 10, and the Pakistani national has been living in this vibrant and creative city for the past 19 years.

"In January, POPC entered the market research and development (R&D) phase in January 2021. Development of the site continued through till March 2022 as the three of us co-founders, Haroon, Arafaat and I, further re-engaged with the artist and pop culture community through social media platforms while building the right merchandising team that understood the business on-demand model. The site went live in April 2022 and the launch took place in July," Amna said.

"At present, we have 16 artists live on our website, and another 15 are in the pipeline. We manually curate each and every artwork that is submitted by them" Amna said.