In 2021 the art world witnessed a real revolution: the Crypto and NFT one.
Amongst exhibitions, acquisitions and partnerships, gradually numerous dedicated museums have sprung up in the metaverse, while traditional museums – after having noticed the potential of NFTs – have also come closer to this universe.
Among the first established realities to open its doors to Crypto Art is the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, which, thanks to the donation by Eduardo Burillo, a member of the museum’s Trustee, has come into possession of one of the 10,000 Cryptopunks # 5293 by LarvaLabs created in 2017 and inspired by British punk rock culture.
It was then the turn of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, that expressed the desire to collaborate with the Binance platform in order to issue NFT of works of art from its rich collection, with the aim of receiving more fundings. Moreover, the museum organized The Ethereal Aether, its first virtual exhibition curated by Dmitry Ozerkov, head of the contemporary art department, dedicated to NFT works.
Another historic institution has also made its voice heard: The British Museum in London which, in agreement with the LaCollection.io platform, has decided to tokenize 200 works by Hokusai – including the famous The Great Wave – and then sell them in cryptocurrency.
Scheduled for January 14, 2022, there is not much time left until the opening of the Seattle NFT Museum, the first physical place dedicated exclusively to NFTs.
Founded by two technological executives Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton in collaboration with Samsung, the museum is located in the Belltown neighborhood and will host exhibitions and art programs dedicated to the Crypto world with a particular focus on the local scene.
Furthermore, the growing focus on digital and technology has allowed the development of realities such as the Italian MEET Digital Culture Center led by Maria Grazia Mattei and supported by the Cariplo Foundation. A physical and virtual space that aims to support the maturation of a new awareness of technology as a resource for people’s creativity and the well-being of the whole society.
Right inside the MEET there is the installation of one of the greatest digital artists of the new generation: Refik Anadol.
Another interesting reality is Artechouse, an American artistic space that connects art and the crowds thanks to exhibitions dedicated to artists who use technology. Three locations are currently active in Washington Dc, New York and Miami Beach.
There was also no shortage of dedicated exhibitions inside the museums. Besides the already mentioned The Ethereal Aether, from June 10 to September 15, 2021 the Francisco Carolinum Museum in Linz has organized the PROOF OF ART exhibition, curated by Jesse Damiani, the first Crypto show designed for both the physical spaces of the museum and online in Cryptovoxels which traced the history of the NFT, from the origins to the birth of the Metaverse.
