The technological disruption caused by the digital transformation in the art world has polarized museums as far as Web3 is concerned. Some museums have gladly embraced the technology by buying NFTs for their collections or using them to open new income streams. However, others are hesitant about revisiting the relevance of their age-old practice in the digital era and the potential of this technology.
During our recent live stream, Gigster’s Director of Blockchain, Cory Hymel, spoke to Next Decentrum’s Founder and CEO, Hussein Hallak, on the need for museums to consider engaging in the emerging Web3 space.
As artists continue exploring and affecting our environments in their original ways, several artists have moved their wares beyond the established brick-and-mortar walls of museums. Artists passionately committed to painting and culture may not only know that fewer people visit museums where art pieces are traditionally stored but that over 95% of their wares are never displayed.
A proliferation of technological developments has eroded social patterns, and cultural practices meaning museums are now marginalized spaces despite the rich catalog of art. Faced with astonishingly inventive creations like NFTs and Web3, artists need to harness new technologies to engage directly, inspire and grow their audiences in ways that reflect changing dynamics between them and a digitalized society.
Instead of diminishing their influence, the breakthroughs in blockchain technology have the potential to create greater possibilities in art and art making. With proper understanding and application, Web3 and NFTs can become a new way to connect artists and the public in ways brick-and-mortar museums may not provide. In exploring the untapped potential of Web3 to move art beyond museums, Hallak made the following curious but passionate observations:
Per the 2021 DappRadar report, NFT sales totaled $23.1 billion, which is way above earnings from traditional art. The NFT ecosystem has brought artists closer to their fans than the traditional museum, resulting in mutual benefits for artists and fans. The connection becomes apparent when you enter the NFT space, where collectors can join Discord channels from NFT projects or follow their favorite artists.
Web3 has created media where collectors can communicate with content creators in real-time and the direction they are taking in their art. The two-way communication between artists and fans has facilitated the proper monetization of art.
NFTs have become the bridge between fine art and cryptocurrency, both of which are highly speculative and command a cult-like following. However, unlike cryptocurrencies open to everyone, fine art has always had a massive barrier to entry. For eons, fine art access and ownership were the preserve of the ultra-rich, willing and able to access museums and spend millions of dollars on museum-grade art pieces.
Cryptocurrency exchanges have enabled anyone with an internet connection and as little as two dollars to invest in a coin of their choice. As a result, anyone among the over five billion who own smartphones can have access to cryptocurrencies and NFTs. While NFTs may not necessarily be art pieces, they’ve become a medium for artists to interpret creativity and redefine the process of creating art. Instead of having a museum display an art piece and wait for a random millionaire to spot it, NFTs enable artists to digitally distribute their creations to millions of people at the touch of a button. This is exciting news for struggling artist who now has a platform to monetize their craft, regardless of their financial status.
NFTs have created a dalliance between art and Web3 - the third iteration of the internet that has enabled fans to consume and experience art. Web-3-enabled art is the way to go for artists who wish to enhance the customer experience in ways that museums haven’t managed to achieve.
NFT galleries have removed physical barriers and become the new museums where artists can digitally exhibit their wares. In contrast, NFT rewards have elevated loyalty rewards to a new and higher level. Watch our live stream for more insights on how you can create unique opportunities to benefit from Web-3 art and its inherent loyalty reward system for a generation that prefers to be paid in crypto or NFTs.
