🎨 Metaproof Art

Hey friends, this is Sophia from 🎨 Metaproof Art, the weekly newsletter where we keep you informed on how the metaverse and web3 are changing the art industry. 

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💌 A quick thanks to our friends…

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📲 By the numbers

The sales of NFTs have ebbed and flowed over time. Here are some numbers (Source):

• The NFT space surged to an all-time high in January 2022 with monthly sales reaching $2.8B. However, that number steeply dropped earlier this year following a string of bankruptcies and implosions that saw around $2 trillion wiped out of the crypto market.

• The downfall of NFT sales was 83% YoY in 2022 while NFT transaction volume plunged by at least 83% across all markets (including art, gaming, and collectibles), according to NFT experts at Casinos En Ligne. 

📫 News & trends

🙌 Superchief NFT gallery and MAIF team up for largest AI art exhibition

AI takes centerstage in the upcoming DEEP FAKE exhibition, a collaboration between the MAIF art collective and Superchief Gallery, the largest exhibition of its kind featuring 73 works by 62 AI-enabled artists. The show aims to explore the potential of AI to push the boundaries of reality and challenge perceptions. The works created with the help of AI algorithms, set to run from March 24 to April 10 at the Superchief Gallery in New York City, will take visitors on a journey through a variety of styles and techniques ranging from abstract to representational art. 

The show will also explore how AI can be used to create new forms of expression and art, as well as how it can enable artists to find new ways to express themselves. Superchief is one of the world’s first physical NFT galleries, opening its doors in 2021 and working with the likes of Christie’s Auction House, The United Nations, and others to produce IRL NFT events.

₿ Leading contemporary art museum Centre Pompidou receives CryptoPunk donation

Yuga Labs has announced the donation of CryptoPunk #110 to the Centre Pompidou in Paris as part of its Punks Legacy Project, which aims to bring attention to the provenance and cultural significance of NFTs. The donation of CryptoPunk #110 marks the second Punks Legacy Project donation by Yuga Labs, following the successful donation of CryptoPunk #7777 to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo.

By donating Punks to renowned art institutions globally, Yuga Labs seeks to ensure that these iconic NFTs are recognized and displayed alongside prestigious contemporary and modern art. The project also provides resources and guidance to these institutions on web3 education, crypto art history, as well as NFT security best practices.

🔥 ‘This is a new Renaissance’: Why the pseudonymous digital art collector Cozomo de’ Medici just gave a major NFT collection to LACMA

The donation of a collection of NFTs to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art by an anonymous NFT collector, Cozomo de' Medici, is a landmark event that has brought blockchain art into mainstream museums. In a bid to diversify LACMA’s collection and create opportunities for all voices to be represented in their exhibits, the donation includes 22 digital artworks by 13 international artists, almost half of whom are women. 

In addition to the generous donation from Cozomo de' Medici, the museum also approved the acquisition of 15 other artworks on the blockchain, acquired from artists around the world and will be displayed in a new dedicated space for digital and contemporary art at LACMA.

The hope around this groundbreaking donation: enhance the accessibility of NFTs such that more people become collectors and appreciate digital artwork, which is often overlooked due to its intangible nature. This donation is an important step in bringing blockchain-based art into mainstream museums and providing greater access and understanding to this innovative form of artwork.

🤔 Nobody buys an NFT just for art

NFTs have become a major phenomenon since 2021. Criticisms note, however, that collections have suffered from a secondary sales crisis due to the lack of intrinsic value they provide. Speculation appears to be the driving force behind the current NFT boom, though in order to truly engage the audience and increase the value of these assets, projects must add internal mechanics that add value. This can be achieved through implementing utilities such as those offered by:

• Moonbirds, allowing for stacking of NFTs and rewards for holders

• Otherdeeds giving early access to the metaverse BAYC is creating

• Music NFTs offering royalties for streams

• NFTs used in games that become more valuable as the game becomes more popular

Collaborations with brands, events, and private clubs can help grow the audience and offer better rewards for holders. Nike and RTFKT have released NFTs with real merch being given to holders, providing a compelling incentive for investors. With dynamic NFTs and impressive collaborations that add both utility and intrinsic value to these assets, projects can encourage people to hold on for dear life (HODL) while also making them more desirable in the secondary market.

💥 Art Blocks and NFT gallery Bright Moments team up to bring generative art IRL

Digital art platform Art Blocks and experiential platform Bright Moments, which connects collectors with physical forms of artwork, have announced the launch of a unique project that ties NFTs to real-life, in-person experiences for collectors. 

The project commissioned artist Michael Kozlowski - the artist behind Chimera, an early NFT collection minted on Art Blocks - to release a collection titled Metropolis, which features generative art NFTs based on architectural influences from five cities, each of which has been carefully chosen to represent the cultural diversity of the art world. 

Collectors will have the opportunity to mint a diptych, a counterpart to their original NFT, in real life and will serve as a physical reminder of their original digital purchase, allowing them to experience their artwork in both digital and physical forms. 

👌 The Memes by 6529: A digital revolution for a better society

Punk6529, an influential NFT collector with an estimated worth of $20M, can be remembered for creating an ERC-1155 token collection of memes, with the help of a multidisciplinary artist and designer, called The Memes by 6529. The aim is to spread awareness of an open metaverse, a decentralized and community-driven virtual and physical bridge, and to make the collection accessible to many people. Ten percent of each edition, designed to empower the community and promote the idea of “self-sovereignty,” is reserved for archiving, displaying, donating, or potential future sales. 

6529 sees this as a way to protect individuals from having their data and information owned by corporate interests or centralized governments. Additionally, the collection also serves to bring attention to the importance of web3 technologies such as blockchain, cryptography, and smart contracts in order to create a secure, open metaverse. Punk6529 hopes that this collection will be a reminder of the mission that OM stands for: putting individuals in control of their own destinies.

📈 Cryptoverse: Punk apes and a resurrection of NFTs

The NFT market has seen a resurgence in recent months, with sales on the Ethereum blockchain jumping to a total of $780.2M in January 2021 or a significant increase from the previous year when NFT sales totaled $82.5M. Digital art collectibles were among the biggest hits, with some pieces selling for over $400,000. In addition, the average NFT sale price was $372.38, indicating a strong demand for these unique digital items.

The rise in NFTs has been attributed to the increasing popularity of blockchain technology and its use in online gaming and digital collectibles. As more people become familiar with this technology and its potential applications, we can only expect to see further growth of the NFT market in the future.

🖼️ 10 fxhash generative art projects you need to know

There’s no sign of Tezos generative art platform fxhash stopping even in the middle of a bear market, maintaining its cult following since getting launched by generative artist ciphrd in November 2021 and developing a generation of generative art stars. Zancan remains fxhash’s all-time leader in sales volume, its magnum opus emerging as the platform’s blue-chip standard bearer. Other projects worth noting are:

• ciphrd – RGB Elementary Cellular Automaton

• William Mapan – Dragons

• msoriaro – Contrapuntos

• teaboswell – September

• Iskra Velitchkova – Uninhabitable

🏃‍♂️ Quick hits

• Yuga Labs revealed the creation of the first real utility-based metaverse, Otherside, built on Unreal Engine and offering a glimpse into the future of NFTs and the potential for virtual worlds.

• The NFT revolution has reached France, with major modern art museum The Centre Pompidou preparing to showcase an NFT collection created by 13 digital artists, including pieces from blue-chip collections like CryptoPunk #110 and Autoglyph #25, both of which have been donated to the institution.

• Hollywood A-lister Keannu Reeves' interest in digital art and NFTs led him to become an advisor for the digital art charity The Futureverse Foundation, which funds artists looking to enter the NFT space.

• NVIDIA Omniverse, a platform for creating and operating metaverse applications, rocked Valentine’s Day with works such as In the NVIDIA Studio, where 3D artist Molly Brady presents a parody scene inspired by the iconic The Birth of Venus painting by Sando Botticelli.

• Cpost International, the official designated postal operator of Curaçao, just released its first NFT stamp issue, and it’s dedicated to no less than the Carnival, the largest annual cultural event in the country. 

• The Middle East's first web3 festival, dubbed Arts DAO Fest, kicks off on March 11 to celebrate the emergence of innovative NFTs and internet culture. 

💸 Finance buzz

• Looking Glass Laboratories Ltd is releasing a beta version of its Pocket Dimension metaverse offering on February 21, with upgrades to users that include four NFT art galleries displaying stock artwork. (Source)

• Abu Dhabi technology ecosystem Hub71 launched Hub71+ Digital Assets with a capital backing of over $2B. This project is dedicated to advancing web3-based innovations and reflects the UAE’s first-mover advantage in the region in all things metaverse, NFTs, and web3. (Source)

• Metaverse platform Mint Valley partnered with 3D NFT project BENNFT for art, culture, and conservation initiatives, harnessing NFTs in promoting wildlife conservation, local artisans and craftsmen, art, dance, food, and cinema along with increasing awareness around digital assets and blockchain technology. (Source)

🗣️ Quote of the week

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All content on this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not aim to serve as or replace expert investment advice.

If you are a startup building in the metaverse / web3 ecosystem and are raising capital, please reach out to Sfermion. Sfermion is an investment firm focused on accelerating the emergence of the metaverse.

Stay informed via our Twitter and Subscribe here to get your metaverse art news every Monday.