UNDRGRND - DIVERSIFYING ON THE BLOCKCHAIN

DIVERSIFYING ON THE BLOCKCHAIN

Harmon Leon — April 20, 2022

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APRIL 20TH, 2022

DiverseNftArt is leading the charge to make the NFT space a more inclusive, artist-first world.  

Co-founded in March 2021, by Hic Et Nunc (HEN) artists Amelie Maia and Taís Koshino, DiverseNftArt is: A collective that supports and nurtures diversity and inclusivity in the NFT art space.

DiverseNftArt lives by the ethos: “We believe that bringing people together through a shared love of artistic practice can help form new connections, ideas and collaboration.”

The collectives’ goal is to share and amplify the voices of women, non-binary, LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC artists and their NFT creations.

As the NFT space has, oh-so, quickly evolved, right here in the early-ish days we are seeing the ground rules set, and DiverseNftArt aims to inspire a community to bring forth changes that promote inclusivity and authenticity.

And it’s great that the ground rules are being set early in the NFT space – especially when, in the mainstream art world, the work of women artists is still being valued less than their male counterparts. According to Artsy: Only two works by women have ever broken into the top 100 auction sales for paintings, despite women being the subject matter for approximately half of the top 25.

Thus, collectives, such as DiverseNftArt, are helping set the NFT tone – in a vastly unique space  – and still not fully understood by the mainstream art world.   

HOW TO DIVERSIFY?

DiverseNftArt fits in with the original ideology of the vibrant, artist-led marketplace HEN (or H=N).

“Initiatives like these will hopefully remind the Euro-American digital artist-collectors that are joining in droves to more actively engage,” artist M Plummer-Fernández stated on his blog. And much like DiverseNftArt:

“What feels unique to H=N is that artists are soon after becoming collectors to financially support other artists.” 

A more diverse NFT space starts with an artist-first ethos; an ethos that doesn’t cater to the crypto-elite; thus creating an ecosystem of not only more diverse artists, but also more diverse buyers and collectors.

Last March, DiverseNftArt teamed up with HEN - to organize #OBJKT4OBJKT: an NFT-swapping event and virtual exhibition that attracted the likes of AI superstar artist Mario Klingemann.

Artists could mint NFTs and list their work for free. They were encouraged to swap their work freely with other participating artists to help increase traffic and diversify collections.

“We believe that the OBJKT4OBJKT initiative helps create a happier and healthier community within Hic et Nunc,” DiverseNftArt stated on their site. “By removing the monetization barrier it will help other artists and collectors to discover and build a more diverse art collection.”

The telling notion is that there is an audience for greater diversity in the space; 247 NFTs were minted for OBJKT4OBJKT and HEN experienced a 226.86% increase in transactions over the weekend event as fans and collectors got to engage in new ways.

Another project DiverseNftArt has been involved with is Prisma: A decentralized curatorial experiment that resulted in collective exhibitions to showcase the work of women, LGBTQIA+ and/or BIPOC artists. DiverseNftArt raised funds for the exhibition by selling Patreon NFT stamps created by artist Marissa Noana.

The ongoing exhibition picks a new curator with each edition. The curator is given a 60 Tezos budget as well as a 10 Tezos payment. Each exhibition features between 5 and 15 artists – in a celebration of NFT diversity and inclusiveness empowering women and underrepresented groups. As DiverseNftArt continues its mission of diversification on the Blockchain, we should witness the evolution of an NFT community where everyone can thrive.

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