Fintech first globally, as proceeds from five pieces of iconic Curve digital art to go to Theatre Support Fund+

London, 26 March, 2021: One year after theatres in London went dark, Curve, the fintech that brings your cards into one smart card and app, has joined with Theatre Support Fund+, to sell five pieces of unique digital art in an online auction for charity. A series of animated Curve branded figures will go under the virtual hammer as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), with online bids invited from all over the world. The auction will end on, or around, Friday 9th of April.

All proceeds will go to the Theatre Support Fund+, to support the struggling theatre community in London, which was devastated by the impact of Covid. Nearly 40% of theatre and art workers in the UK’s capital have been made redundant since the start of the pandemic a year ago.

The online auction kicks off on Friday, a day before World Theatre Day, which falls on Saturday the 27th of March. World Theatre Day was started by the International Theatre Institute in 1961, exactly sixty years ago, to promote theatre in all forms and to raise awareness of its value to society.

In a first for a fintech globally, Curve has listed digital images of their iconic in-app characters for auction on the crypto marketplace Rarible.com. NFTs are cryptocurrency tokens which certify ownership of a unique digital file using blockchain technology. The ownership history, item details, and copyright rules are stored on the decentralised network, providing a guarantee of ownership that is unforgeable. 

Anyone from the public can view the digital artworks online, but must connect their Ethereum wallet to Rarible to bid for them.

Curve’s founder and CEO, Shachar Bialick said: “The theatre community is part of what gives London its vibrancy and diversity, a combination that made Curve choose the UK capital as our HQ. I am proud that Curve is working with Theatre Support Fund+ on one of the first examples of using digital art to make a tangible difference to society. NFTs hold genuine promise to change how we think about art ownership and enjoyment as a purely physical experience.”

Damien Stanton and Chris Marchus, Co-founders of Theatre Support Fund+ said “We are excited to be partnering with Curve in its digital online auction to support out of work artists in the UK’s theatre industry. In 10 months, and since the UK’s first lockdown, the Theatre Support Fund+ has helped thousands of workers in the industry who have had no, or limited work, since theatres shut over a year ago.  This World Theatre Day it is important to look forward to what the future holds, but also to take a moment to look back and note the effect the last year has had on those who call the theatre home. Through partnerships such as this, we will be able to support those artists further, until the industry can be back making theatre again.”

To bid on the tokens, visit Rarible.com/curveos

Twitter: @theatre_support

Instagram: @TheatreSupportFund

About Theatre Support Fund+

Theatre Support Fund+ was set up in May 2020 by theatre industry workers Chris Marcus and Damien Stanton to help those who have been affected by the pandemic. In 10 months the team have taken over 70,000 orders and raised  £800,000 to help thousands of workers who have had no or limited work since theatres shut a year ago. Their ‘The Show Must Go On!’ design is an amalgamation of the 16 biggest West End Musicals artwork and has been recognised internationally with orders been sent to 73 different countries across the globe. The Theatre support Fund+ distributes funds raised through its two partner charities Acting for Others & the Fleabag Support Fund. For more information or to support the fund please visit www.theatresupportfund.co.uk

About Curve

Curve is a fintech that combines multiple cards and accounts into one smart card and even smarter app. The unique Curve card allows customers to supercharge their legacy banks to the 21st century without leaving their bank. Curve is live in 31 markets across the UK and Europe, and plans to launch in the US later in 2021. 

Curve offers a host of benefits to its customers, including instant notifications and categorisation across their spend, the ability to fit their cards into Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, even if their banks don’t support this, and Curve’s patented Time Travel functionality, which enables customers to swap spend to a different card in the app for up to 30 days after the purchase was made.

Curve supports Mastercard® and Visa networks. The Curve Card and e-money, related to cards issued in the UK, is issued by Curve OS Limited, authorised in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority to issue electronic money (firm reference number 900926). The Curve Card and e-money, related to cards issued in the EEA, is issued by Curve Europe UAB, authorised in Lithuania by the Bank of Lithuania (electronic money institution license No. 73 issued on 22 of October, 2020).

For more information go to www.curve.com, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @imaginecurve and Instagram @imaginecurve.

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