For those working in the artistic sphere, the .art domain name is one of the most powerful anchors for a brand. In fact, the .art TLD powers the online presences of notable individuals and organizations such as Mahfuz Rahman, Vortic, and XCOPY.
We recently had the chance to chat with the team behind .art for a wide-ranging discussion covering everything from launching a new TLD to getting the most from a domain name.
The interview also comes as applications open for the .ART Award, which is for any creatives using the .art domain name (more deets in the interview).
Applications open May 11, 2026 — the 10th anniversary of the .art TLD. The application window closes November 1, 2026. Winners will be announced during Art Basel Miami on or around December 3, 2026. You can apply for the .ART award at award.art.
With the right business sense, it seems like almost any venture would be possible. What led to the launch of the TLD .art?
The founder of .art, Ulvi Kasimov, has been active in the art world for many years as a collector and supporter of the arts. His oldest daughter, Medina, is an accomplished artist herself and adopted art at a very young age, which helped her overcome some physical challenges she had from birth — this was the inspiration behind our Healing Power of Art Initiative.
As an entrepreneur and engineer, Ulvi also had a very strong interest in the digitization of art and the importance of documenting and archiving art and cultural objects online. All of this led to Ulvi's interest in applying for .art as a top-level domain, with the understanding that everyone is an artist. Everyone has creative ideas and creative interests, and thus the marketplace for .art as a top-level domain is potentially massive and a very good business.
For most people, it’s probably somewhat of a mystery where TLDs come from. Could you walk us through the process of getting a new TLD off the ground?
Back in 2012, ICANN opened up the opportunity for anyone to apply for a top-level domain. The application fee then was $185,000, plus there are additional legal and accounting costs involved with the application process. That window of opportunity closed at the end of January 2012, and then later that year it was revealed who had applied for what. Ulvi and his partners were one of ten applicants for the .art TLD.
Since 2012, there hasn't been another opportunity to apply for new top-level domains until this year. On April 30, 2026, ICANN opened up another round that will close mid-August. There will be a new application window for individuals and entities to apply for new top-level domains that don't exist already. The cost this time around is a bit higher than in 2012, with the application fee set at $227,000.
While domain names are sold at ICANN-accredited registrars such as GoDaddy, the registry operator for each TLD is responsible for maintaining the underlying technical backend to ensure that a domain can only be registered once by one person at any of the registrars, and to manage abuse and determine and provide for a safe and secure domain zone.
In addition, the registry operator serves as a sales and marketing arm, working with registrars and beyond to build awareness and demand for its top-level domain.
Let’s look back on your journey for a sec. What are some of the challenges you faced, and what advice would you give for overcoming them in growing .art?
Probably the biggest challenge for any new TLD is raising consumer awareness that the TLD exists as an option. For .art in particular, it was important for us to raise awareness among artists and key players in the art world. With that in mind, our pursuit of early adopters that were well-established gave us a great deal of early credibility. Museums such as the Louvre and Tate were early adopters of a .art domain, as well as global brands such as Porsche and Mercedes-Benz, and famous artists such as Marina Abramovic.
These early adopters helped .art build trust, awareness, and legitimacy among the creative community. Shining a light on these early adopters, as well as on other artists and art-related businesses using a .art domain, is an important part of our marketing and promotion of the TLD and the brand. And since domains are sold at registrars, it was very important to establish strong partnerships with top registrars like GoDaddy to help get .art in front of their creative customers.
It’s hard to keep track of all the new TLDs hitting the market. What are some of the strategies you went with for raising awareness for .art?
High-profile early adopters of .art were instrumental in helping us stand out in the creative community. We have strived to provide content, tools, and other resources that help artists and others in the art world be successful in a digital-first world. We created platforms such as ID.art that make it easy for artists to organize and share their portfolio and create certificates of authenticity and other tools. We've sponsored awards like the Digital Innovation in Arts and Culture Award and our new .ART Award that we're launching now.
We regularly host webinars featuring topics that provide genuine value to the art community while also helping raise awareness of the .art domain. For the past three years, we've also published a magazine, The .ART Odyssey, as well as a fantastic Artist Handbook, all of which are available on Amazon. We also take advantage of celebrating important dates such as World Art Day on April 15 every year and International Artist Day on October 25 every year, using those as launching pads for broader awareness.
Can you explain how the .ART Award works and what applicants need in order to participate?
In celebration of our 10th anniversary, we are launching the .ART Award this year with over $50,000 in prize value and a first prize of $15,000. This is a unique award in the art world in that it celebrates the journey of the artists and the story and inspiration behind their work, not just the end result. The requirement to apply for this award is very simple: just the .art domain and the content it points to.
Whether it's a website, a platform profile, or a social media page, your .art domain should point to content that documents your journey as an artist and tells your story, as well as the story behind your artwork. We have assembled an impressive jury of luminaries from the art world, including critics, curators, operators of artist residencies, and more, who will be judging these submissions and choosing the winners of the various .ART award prizes.
The award focuses on documenting the creative process, not just the finished piece. Why is that such an important part of the .ART Award?
It's been proven time and again that it's the story behind art and cultural objects that creates the interest and the value, and not just the finished product itself. Why can a $5 harmonica be auctioned off for $5,000 by Christie's? Because the harmonica once belonged to Jimi Hendrix, and it was given to him by Bob Dylan.
The story is the key to creating a work of art. In the digital world, the tools exist to share your story, yet many artists do not take advantage of this. We wanted to use the .ART Award to highlight the importance and value of declaring and claiming your creative identity with the.art domain and then sharing your story by connecting it to a website.
What would you say to a creative professional who already has a portfolio or social presence, but hasn’t yet invested in their own website, branded email, or domain?
The good news is that once you register your .art domain, GoDaddy makes it very easy to redirect it to point to an existing portfolio or social presence if you choose not to create your own website. GoDaddy also offers the powerful and easy-to-use Website Builder so that you could create your own .art website and have links to your portfolio or social presences from there.
Let AI help create your website in minutes.
Glad you asked about email, because it's also a very important use case, especially for .art, where your domain name represents your creative identity. Using a .art domain as your email, if you're an artist, makes a much more powerful and professional statement than yourname@gmail.com or another generic email service.
How does the .ART Award create an additional incentive for artists to register a .art domain and actually build out their online presence?
Anyone with a .art domain pointing to the appropriate content is eligible to apply for the .ART Award. There's a wide range of very exciting prizes, from the first prize of $15,000 to opportunities to spend a month at an artist's residency at a spectacular European location, to a high-value premium .art domain, and many more prizes.
Once you've established your creative identity with a .art domain, and documented your story and your creative process online, this is something that will be a lasting benefit to you long after the .ART Awards have been granted. Even if you don't win one of the top prizes, you'll win by setting yourself up for success online.
If someone is considering launching their first creative website, what are the first steps they should take to build a strong online presence with a .art domain?
Of course, the first step is to get a great .art domain and claim your creative identity. Many of our registrations are firstnamelastname.art, and if you're an individual artist, your full name or perhaps your surname would make a great .art domain for you. If you're an art-related business, there are also many great keyword domains or two- or three-word domains that could match your brand and also be very effective as a marketing tool because the .art extension will add authority, context, and recognition to your name.
We also have many very affordable premium domain names, so if there's a keyword or phrase you're looking for to really own a particular category in art, those names also are a great way to get started. GoDaddy offers a very good discount on our premium domains. Once you have your domain, you want to determine where to point it. If you don't already have a website or online presence, you can create one using GoDaddy Website Builder.
You can also easily redirect your new .art domain to an existing website if you already have one, or to a social media platform such as Instagram, or even to your artist profile or portfolio on another art platform. In all of these cases, it's your .art domain that represents your identity and makes it easy for people to remember and find you. Lastly, don't forget that email is still the killer app, and having a .art domain as your email address is a powerful way to present yourself to the world as someone who is serious about their creative pursuits.
What advice would you give artists on creating a compelling .art website that stands out?
Of course, your artwork speaks for itself, so you want to make sure that your .art website is very visual and presents your artwork or your creativity front and center. And of course, as indicated by the whole concept of our .ART award, your story, your journey, and the story and inspiration behind your creativity are an important part of what you should be sharing online. Having your own website is a fantastic way to present all of this information and let people get to know you, the artist, and not just your artwork.
You want to be sure to include links to all of your social media platforms and any other places where your work or you can be found online, so that your website is really a portal to your entire digital presence. Building a community around your art is also important, and your website can really help with that. Make it easy for people to contact you and engage with you.
Have a sign-up for an email list so you can keep your followers and collectors updated about new works, exhibitions, activities, and maybe even send them a newsletter once in a while. Think of your website as your home online and share everything you would want your fans, collectors, friends, and associates to know about you.
