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DIS Plays the Fool
In the second monthly installment of a three-part curatorial residency, DIS celebrate the comic, the obscene, and the absurd, highlighting the NFT projects honing the troll instincts native to online culture
New Medium, New Message, New Aura: Onchain Art Gets Material with Zien
How Zien are bridging the physical and the digital to create a new kind of art institution attuned to the challenges of our extreme present
“The Painter’s New Tools” Redefines a Historic Medium for an Age of Digital Spectacle
Eleanor Cayre and Dean Kissick’s group show at Nahmad Contemporary argues for the renewed relevance of painting in an age where images and IRL reality are more confused than ever
Camaraderie of Competition: How BLVKHVND Saw the We in Esports
Born out of frustration with a fickle and fractured industry, BLVKHVND is the path-breaking esports DAO building a gaming culture where competition and community go hand in hand
Popular.
DIS Plays the Fool
In the second monthly installment of a three-part curatorial residency, DIS celebrate the comic, the obscene, and the absurd, highlighting the NFT projects honing the troll instincts native to online culture
Chaos and the Headless Band
Matthew Chaim and Mark Redito of Songcamp dive into Camp Chaos' origins, mechanics, and vision
Planetary Infrastructure as Resistance: Solarpunk and Web3
Solarpunk is hot right now: After living in a dusty (but bright) corner of the internet for over a decade, the subculture is suddenly being recognized, and its values and tropes are being appropriated within Web3 culture
To Voice or to Exit: Crypto Cities
Monolithic, centralized cities are in need of an update: What is their fate?
Enter ZORA V3
New year, new Z: Here's to welcoming the protocol's latest commitment to new market types, gas efficiency, finder's fees, modular architecture, DAOs, and ZORFs
Holly Herndon for One for All
Holly Herndon on launching Holly+, longevity in art, and the wild west of NFTs
Why Create Your Own Marketplace?
Freedom to display and sell your work outside of the dominant format of endless thumbnail feeds should be a given
Metaverse Glossary
Everything you need to know about Metaverse jargon
More Recent Posts
CARBON is Living in a Metamaterial World
Helmed by Chad Pickard, Claudia De-Meis, Jamie Reid, Vanessa Reid, and Ben Ditto, CARBON is bringing genre-defying fixtures of fashion to Web3
DIS Takes the Wheel
In the first monthly installment of a three-part curatorial residency, the post-internet pioneers chart their early encounters with crypto and offer an essential overview of the creators breaking new ground today
Minting Faces in Latent Spaces: How SMPLverse is inverting tools for machine cognition
Artist and researcher William Wiebe repurposes avatars generated for the infrastructure of the metaverse, revealing its embedded preferences in the process
NFTs Are Gamifying Fashion: What's in the Wardrobe?
While there may be few cases where fashion NFTs offer IRL functionality, they don’t need much more justification beyond the excitement they inspire; like fashion itself, it’s still very much evolving
Mint Condition: Dwight Torculas, Music NFTs, and Artist Agency
Mint Songs is striving for a newer, fresher take on how artists and collectors can become their own curators in the marketplace
Eyes on the Pie: Yeche Lange Proofs Artist-Run Space on the Blockchain
How can future online spaces elicit more left-field practices to build community and invite participation? An emerging gallery might have the answer—baked into their foundation
Chaos and the Headless Band
Matthew Chaim and Mark Redito of Songcamp dive into Camp Chaos' origins, mechanics, and vision
From E.A.T. to the Metacene: Julie Martin and Rachel Rossin
Despite operating years apart, there’s an inimitable and intuitive resolve in Julie Martin and Rachel Rossin’s practices, an overarching continuation of technology’s promise and the interweaving between art and engineering. New York-based arts organization Rhizome honors them both for their annual benefit.
A Token of Gratitude: Ken Knowlton with Jim Boulton
Leading up to Rhizome’s 2022 Benefit Dinner, the first since 2020, pioneering computer artist Ken Knowlton—in concert with curator Jim Boulton—has released a bespoke NFT depicting co-honoree Julie Martin, deploying the same algorithm as Knowlton’s groundbreaking 1966 piece, "Computer Nude"
Destroy to Immortalize: In Conversation with Ron Arad
The London-based multihyphenate speaks from his Camden compound with Zora Zine's Editor on "Reverse Again," his maiden Web3 series
Planetary Infrastructure as Resistance: Solarpunk and Web3
Solarpunk is hot right now: After living in a dusty (but bright) corner of the internet for over a decade, the subculture is suddenly being recognized, and its values and tropes are being appropriated within Web3 culture
To Voice or to Exit: Crypto Cities
Monolithic, centralized cities are in need of an update: What is their fate?
Ours Truly
Zora’s latest fundraising round advances our developments of public NFT tools
Iman Europe Wants You to Know Your Worth
Head of Artist Relations at sound.xyz, Iman Europe confides in Latashá Alcindor on her music career jockeying between LA and New York, creative plagiarism, setting professional boundaries, and knowing when to say "No"
At Scab Shop, Skin isn't Ink's Only Home
Who says tattoos can't be immortal? Creative studio CTHDRL and tattoo bellwether Scott Campbell connect on their industry-shattering initiative, enlisting ten genesis artists in the process
Chuck Anderson's "Infinite Pressure" is a Line in the Sand
The Chicago-based artist, designer, and photographer discusses his 99-piece NFT collection, which evokes surreal and florid tableaus, and marks a turning point in his career
At Fingerprints DAO, Collecting NFTs is Just the Beginning
Fingerprints DAO, inaugurated by Luiz Ramalho, isn't solely in the business of collecting NFTs with distinct criteria, but rather championing a space for new artists, incubating works, and incentivizing collaboration with humans and machines
The Cypherpunk Case for NFTs
Des Femmes Magazine co-founder, Leigh Cuen, is determined to utilize NFTs as a cypherpunk tool and celebrate digital art’s new chapter in the broader legacy of feminist art
Mars Maiers and Novel Auction Mechanics
Allan Yu and Jacob Bijani's NFT project is a testament to binding design and art concordantly; and their blind and silent auction mechanisms are blueprints for more diverse functionalities
NfTNeTArT at panke.gallery Highlights the Medium in the Flesh
The Wedding, Berlin-based gallery celebrates its five-year anniversary, showcasing nine international artists who deploy algorithms as their artistic language
Jimmy Edgar's OBJECTZ is a Portal into the Metaphysical
In his latest 3,396-image collection, the producer, DJ, and artist is stretching the limits of what's possible with generative, 3D-rendered images, and honing in on their inherent, quantum energies
Channel and the Great Re-bundling of Media
Channel is the platform from New Models, Interdependence, and Joshua Citarella—para-institutional researchers, developers, and creators burnishing the patina off institutions and redefining how media is disseminated, and consumed
Peering Over the Edge: Hedging Bets and the Promise of DAOs
Rectifying the wrongs of Web2 requires a vision of the future, taking advantage of what’s being built, and using it to your project’s ends
Metaphorical Resonances, Ledgers, KNOTS: Emily Segal and Maximal User Harmony
The artist, writer, trend forecaster, and KNOTS project co-creator suggests it's time for literature to expand into the experimental, decentralized landscape
A Most Contentious Debate: NFTs, Wikipedia Editors, and Taxonomic Authority
In this week's essay, digital anthropologist and curator Wade Wallerstein considers Wikipedia's recent decision to not classify NFTs as art and suggests more intentional ways of thinking through the material specificities of the blockchain
Burning Down the Content Farm with Godmin
Godmin, progenitor of glitch and vaporwave-inspired Heaven Computer, shares with Zora co-founder Dee Goens what it’s like being a solo female developer in Web3, the beauty in file corruption, and staying true to one’s vision
ZORA Modules and Protocol Architecture
How do we minimize the migration costs for ZORA users while ensuring that developers outside can continue to use any version of our contract? Enter the bird's-eye view of V3 and ZORA Modules
Case Simmons is Up in the Clouds
The classically trained artist, with 20 years of digital collages under his belt, recently sold out his "Clouds on Chains" series—he speaks with Zora on the importance of engaging with one's audience, the arbitrary gamble of price-making, and pushing programmatic limits
Verses, Artifacts, and the Collective Mandate
Spawned from Meta's rebranding, Verses, the collective of writers, researchers, and technologists, churning essays dubbed 'artifacts', argues for a Pluriverse—the coexistence of many worlds and value systems in Web3
Our Decentralized Selves: Creating in a Post-Identity Future
Web3 gives creators the chance to be born again over and over, discarding and circumventing limits or requirements for pre-existing identity, reputation, or experience
Enter ZORA V3
New year, new Z: Here's to welcoming the protocol's latest commitment to new market types, gas efficiency, finder's fees, modular architecture, DAOs, and ZORFs
Nic Hamilton and the Beauty of Incremental Change
Originally trained as an architect, the Melbourne-based image maker is preparing to release Nuxui, a generative series which examines the passage of time—from simple 3D fragments to abandoned infrastructures
Aleatoric is the NFT Project Letting Chance Take the Wheel
Matt Condon and Evan Casey demonstrate how the agency of AI and sleep talking can distill into comical audio-visual vignettes
Stevie P: Feedback Loops and Topographies of Ketchup
Steve Pikelny's universe of early-internet style websites and photographic series breeds self-reflective thought and spelunks into the root of the human condition
Tea Time With Aluna
Aluna, one half of famed duo AlunaGeorge, has her eyes on solo endeavors, rewriting the restrictive codes of DSPs regarding Black dance music, touring and producing a clothing line in the metaverse, and emphasizing wellbeing
Haleek Maul: HOLDERSLAND and an Ode to What's Owed
From his roots as rapper and record producer, Haleek Maul’s determination to solely release on-chain and found multidisciplinary institution, HOLDERSLAND, underscores his faith in a decentralized future
ZORA: A Year in Retrospect
From the founding white papers last January to the litany of builders and creators who curate and build on the auction house or protocol today, labeling this year "eventful" would be an understatement
Harm van den Dorpel's Subdued Iconoclasm
The Dutch-born, Berlin-based conceptual artist has straddled traditional art-world ecosystems and the growing promise of crypto; he may be one of the most effective ambassadors to bridge these disparate worlds
Artiva is the Antidote
If Web3 is about accessibility, and culture is what propels the movement forward, then Artiva is the antidote to staid ivory-tower dynamics
mannys.game is Exploring Trust and Programmable Utility
From a Soho 3D printing shop to an adventure game in the metaverse, mannys.game is stretching the limit of how collectibles can function, and testing how trust operates in Web3
Sustaining a Living in Decentralized Music with Sound.xyz
For founders David Greenstein, Matt Masurka, and Vignesh Kanth, musicians require a toolkit to counteract the predatory engineering and creative void that legacy labels, and DSPs, uphold
Fractional and the Instilled Emotion of NFTs
Andy Chorlian's permissionless protocol facilitates ownership, champions accessibility, and underscores NFTs' capacity to evoke emotion
Eric Hu Will Not Take Web3 For Granted
The "Monarchs" co-creator emphasizes building Web3 deliberately and sustainably, delineates artistic versus design approaches, and opens up on his Decentralized Beauty initiative
Lani Trock Wants to Update the Social Contract
The multidisciplinary artist shares why site-specific works and Web3 needn’t be mutually exclusive, how blockchains can be instruments of social good, and when to cope with FOMO through mindfulness
Safeguarding the Movement
Wallet security means sharpening our senses
Reggaenomics and the Case for a Public Ledger
ZORA's own Dai Hovey traces the byzantine histories of sampling and copyright to argue for an open and permissionless ecosystem in which creators can thrive
Allow Me to EMBED
A toolkit for exhibiting your NFTs anywhere on the internet
FWB x ZORA Party: A Succinct Tell-All
Ushering in NFT.NYC's slew of events, a humble recounting of last week's superb meeting-of-the-minds
The Stories in the Machine
Chief Storyteller and CEO of Untitled Frontier, Simon de la Rouviere, revisits his Ethereum-embedded story from 2015, and ponders how current narratives written on-chain could prescribe the future
Geography and Paradise: Karl Phenom's Relaxation Gardens
Known for emulating the grit and grime of the basement club in his "punkisnotdead" series, Karl Phenom now lures us into the serenity of his Ibiza-inspired virtual gardens
Take a Ride on the Blkchain
Sian Morson of The Blkchain on championing crypto education, ensuring BIPOC don't lose out on venture capital, and building the largest collection of Black digital art
Cup of NFT: The 'It' Newsletter
Elle and Gian Ferrer on being tired of a Western-dominated NFT narrative, and embarking on their own newsletter covering artists in Southeast Asia, Play-to-Earn, and enabling global citizens to Web3
House of Fine Art Launches hofa.io - A Metaverse Gallery of NFT Excellence
ZORA speaks with HOFA co-founders on reimagining NFTs within the blue-chip, the value of curation, and why competition is a good thing.
The Many Multitudes of Niall Ashley
The Bristol-born, London-based painter and performance artist speaks on translating video into painting, getting away with abstraction, and not being afraid to politicize the NFT revolution
NiftyTable on Data Analysis and Why Decentralization Matters
“Data definitely has a limit in the value that it provides. The rest is filled by human imagination and effort.”
Sirsu on The Well and Building a Cultural Index On-Chain
“The Well is kind of like my love letter to humanity.”
Manifold on Smart Contracts and Creative Sovereignty
Eric Diep explains how Web3 enables true authenticity
VerticalCrypto Art on Residency Program Auction
"Creators should be empowered to own their own finances, to know how to market themselves, to not always have to be represented by somebody else."
The First Female Rapper on Blockchain now Leading Artists
ZORA’s new Community Lead, LATASHÁ
Speculation is a Superpower
And with great power comes great responsibility
Worldbuilding with FWB
"We're interested in how the digital can integrate into IRL, and amplify and strengthen our existing human connections."
The PFZ Stack: PartyBid-Fractional-Zora
How PartyBid, Fractional Art, and ZORA Auction House fit together, and why these projects are an important stack in the fractional NFT and DAO spaces
Reflections on the First-Ever PartyBid
How one party changed it all
JPG Co-founder Sam Spike on Curation, Cultural Value, and Permissionless Participation
How to build a thriving cultural landscape on the blockchain
H+ and Bright Moments Gallery in Los Angeles Pioneer NFTs IRL
Founder Hannah Stouffer collaborates with curator Chanel Verdult for NFT live auction
How to create your own NFT Auction House using ZORA
A repo to bootstrap your own permissionless auction house with the ZORA protocol
Holly Herndon for One for All
Holly Herndon on launching Holly+, longevity in art, and the wild west of NFTs
Why Create Your Own Marketplace?
Freedom to display and sell your work outside of the dominant format of endless thumbnail feeds should be a given
Metaverse Glossary
Everything you need to know about Metaverse jargon
PartyDAO on Building and Launching PartyBid
Giving communities the power to bid
Catalog Seeks to Revolutionize the Music Industry
Catalog’s mission is being an artist-focused platform that is both sustainable and community-oriented
Felt Zine on DAOs, ZORA, and Creating Together
A case study of DAOs, IRL and URL
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