From Finance to the Art World: Amina Debbiche.
Tunisian-born Amina Debbiche never imagined her career would take her to the art world. Now, she can’t imagine a life without it. Project Synergy’s own Alexia Rosas details Amina’s journey of self-discovery, reinvention, and ultimately reconnection.
Amina Debbiche, photographed for The Open Crate.
Slow living synthesizes Amina Debbiche's experience growing up in Gammarth, Tunisia. Ironically enough, it is not reflective of the mesmerizing road she had ahead—a road driven by passion and carved by a mission: preserving the past and protecting the future.
Debbiche, 34, grew up surrounded by incredible Roman ruins and the vast Mediterranean sea- a contrasting yet magnificent balance between the beach and the diversity of the city’s architecture. Tunisians have one of the highest levels of education and alphabetization in the Middle East. According to her, women are empowered in Tunisia. "It was never a question of whether I can do this or that as a woman. I was never treated differently because I was a woman. My brothers, my friends, and I were all always on the same level," says Debbiche.
View near Amina’s house in Tunisia. Courtesy of Amina.
Growing up, Debbiche was immensely inspired by her grandfather, Chedly Ayari, who she describes as the love of her life. He was a Tunisian politician, economist, and diplomat. Later on, he became the Chairman of the Arab Bank for African Development and the Governor of the Central Bank in Tunisia post-revolution. "He influenced me so much to pursue my dreams. He comes from a very modest family of 11 kids. He created his own destiny through education. He really pushed me to do the same," shares Debbiche.
Amina’s grandfather sitting at her terrace’s home. Courtesy of Amina.
Moving from the beaches of Gammarth to the energetic city of Paris, Debbiche's slow living accelerated as she earned her MA in Finance and Banking. "I started working in the banking industry, and after two or three months, I felt that I didn't belong there. There was no one I wanted to take the seat from; that person you look at and say, 'one day I'm gonna be you.' There was no one I wanted to say that to," says Debbiche.
Paris' multicultural scene sparked Debbiche's intellectual curiosity and thirst for knowledge. And as she felt uninspired by her work, she embarked on a new journey. At the beginning, Debbiche was nervous about the big shift in her career. "I was afraid of changing the destiny I had written for myself. I was afraid to listen to my instinct and jump on a new adventure where most of it felt unknown," shares Debbiche about her experience embarking on this venture.
Paris, Montmartre. Amina and her mom like to visit and explore where many famous artists lived. Taken by Amina.
Seeking to combine her background in finance with her passion for the art world, Debbiche started working on a Master's in Modern and Contemporary art and a Certificate in Art Business at Christie's London. She spent several years immersing herself in the intricacies of the art market and honing her experience. From Phillip's Auction House to the Fine Art Fund, to Christie's London, to Art Dubai as a manager of the Patron Circle and Art Salon in the VIP department, art became a language Debbiche spoke fluently.
Debbiche fell in love with the diversity and versatility found in art. "You talk about history. You talk about wars. You talk about feminism. You talk about psychology. You talk about science," says Debbiche. "I was absolutely in awe of the potential of art in terms of exploring different types of subjects and accessing different types of narratives of what I've learned in the mainstream media. It was a new kind of window towards understanding the world I live in through different narratives."
As she navigated the art world, Debbiche realized that there was a significant vacuum in the market: an increasing interest for private collectors to invest in pieces and a need for a more transparent and efficient documentation system. Debbiche saw the potential to address this void, taking the ethos of preserving cultural legacy from the past and protecting its future as her mission.
Nora Mansour (left) and Amina Debbiche (right). Co-founders of The Open Crate.
Debbiche gave birth to The Open Crate alongside Nora Mansour in 2018. “Meeting Nora was like meeting the partner I was waiting for to finally become the entrepreneur I always was,” says Debbiche. Defining themselves as cultural engineers, they aspired to create a user-friendly platform to pioneer digital inventory for collectors, advisors, and cultural institutions.
The risks both Debbiche and Mansour took paid off. As a result, The Open Crate became the first independent digital solution for collectors in the Middle East and Africa Region. The Open Crate is redefining the process of buying art and the way collectors interact with it. Debbiche believes that collections allow for the preservation of connection over time. "People tend to forget that they are mortals, and their collections aren't," says Debbiche. "The collection will pass on to history and new generations at some point. A collection is not just dead objects sitting on a wall. It's alive and has a story to tell. We're pioneering a new way of managing art collection and allowing owners to get that intellectual control over what they own."
The Open Crate is all about intellectual control. It is founded on the premise that knowledge is power, and any collector is entitled to that power. By optimizing the collection's accessibility through an app, collectors gain access to all relevant information about their art just by logging in to the platform. "You have a deep understanding of what you own, and you have digital access to it. Digital allows you to open doors to the world. You can open your collection to someone based in Miami, someone based in London; there's no limitation of space and time anymore," says Debbiche.
Just as Debbiche is pioneering digital inventory management for collectors, she is also a strong leader in advocacy for women. She believes that helping women rise is essential.
She wants to empower other women to fight for their passion and to believe in their destiny so much that it'll come by inertia. "The challenge is worth the reward," says Debbiche. "People think that freedom is easy. But the freer you become, the more complicated it is. When you don't have freedom, you have rules imposed on you. You're enslaved to something." Breaking free from these constraints implies higher risks, but as she puts it, it's a high risk with an even higher reward. And what will ease the process is working for something you are passionate about. It all starts with a goal. A goal that pushes you to get out of bed every morning. All else will follow.
"You can have it all," says Debbiche. "You won't have it delivered, though. You have to fight and work hard."
About the Author. Alexia Rosas (@alexiarosasm) is a contributing writer for Project Synergy from Lima, Peru, currently based in New York City. She is pursuing a degree in both Journalism and Philosophy from New York University.
