A lot has changed in the last year, and the art world is no exception. Non-fungible tokens, more commonly referred to as NFTs, have become the most recent boom to hit the art space. Capitalizing on this trend, the Seattle NFT Museum, opening January 14, aims to educate the public about the art form and make it more accessible by providing a physical gallery to display NFTs — an exclusively digital artform.
NFTs are more than your average piece of digital art, however. Through the use of a blockchain computing network, digital artists are able to create and record virtual certificates of ownership, something that has never before been possible with digital art. This verification of provenance and ownership over a piece of digital art allows collectors to truly “own” a digital art piece, creating a new marketplace for artists and collectors alike, and sending NFT prices soaring.
The artwork itself ranges in content from memes and jokes to serious pieces of digital art. The founders of the Seattle NFT Museum, Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton, are both veterans in the tech and startup spaces. Their goal in founding the museum is to help the public better understand and appreciate NFT artwork.
The physical museum, located in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood, will feature more than 30 high-quality screens to display the digital art. The founders hope that by sharing the art in person, patrons can experience the inspiration, education and community that are currently lacking in the digital forums where NFTs are most commonly shared.
The founders are working directly with artists and collectors to curate their first show. They’ll feature art from five artists, as well as a collection on loan from NFT collector Aaron Bird. In addition to various shows and exhibits, the museum also will host minting events, team off-sites, conferences, fundraisers, holiday parties, photoshoots and more.
This article was originally posted on GeekWire by Kurt Schlosser.