The Open Crate is a digital art platform launched by Amina Debbiche, a Tunisian art specialist and Nora Mansour, originally from Lebanon who previously worked with leading art and design entities like Art Basel and Carpenter’s Workshop Gallery.

In this episode the two co-founders share how The Open Crate grew from a printed catalog into a private, global platform that secures provenance, organizes collections, and opens access to context, education and insight on the art market in the MENASA region without compromising privacy. We explore themes of trust and resistance, the importance of heritage preservation through documentation, motherhood and entrepreneurship, fashion’s overlap with art, and The Open Crate's roadmap to future-proof archives.

A few topics covered in this episode are:

• Founder backgrounds from finance to cataloging
• Why Dubai and the region needed digital structure
• Turning point with a major Iranian collector Mohamed Afkhami
• Privacy, trust, and resistance to online archives
• Traits that win clients and sustain growth
• Complementary roles and building while parenting
• Art, fashion, design, and lifestyle as one ecosystem
• Vision for Open Crate Lab and AI provenance
• Training the next generation of art specialists
• Routines that protect focus, energy, and creativity
If you'd like to learn more follow The Open Crate on Instagram and as always, if you enjoyed this conversation, please share it, leave a review, and stay tuned for more curated voices from across art, fashion, and culture on The Curation Podcast hosted by Nour Hassan.
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