Creative Interdependence- Tokenomics: A New Economy of Art
- 19 January 2022, 6-7:30pm
- Online event
View the event recording below:
The token-based economies of blockchain technology are inspiring artists to reclaim and manage the value they create, both as individuals and as networks of peers and fans. These developments could rewrite the rules of the traditional art world - bringing artists and supporters together as co-creators, tastemakers and funders. How much will the experiments underway enable more equitable economies of art? What are the challenges and opportunities of collaborative economies?
Ameer Suhayb Carter and Michail Stangl talked about new approaches to the game, from using DAOs or social tokens to building cooperative networks around a collective mission, to creator tokens that monetise fan engagement through coin giveaways and rewards, and the platforms innovating new tools for financing decentralised creation.
We celebrated the successes, such as the ability of a much broader pool of creators and fans to find new agenciy and build more diverse ecosystems through playing to the strengths of their interdependence.
And ask questions. How much do the emerging models depend on the attention economies of platform capitalism and reinforce exclusivity for their success? Can token-based systems account for the messiness of human collaboration? What relationship, if any, might fan-based and institutional curation have in these emergent economies?
This event was chaired by Penny Rafferty.
About the speakers
Ameer Suhayb Carter / Sirsu is an artist and founder of The Well and Mint Fund, Ameer’s approach aims to ‘give tastemaking back to the communities building the next wave of culture’.
Michail Stangl is a curator and “pretty big deal” at Zora NFT marketplace protocol which set out to ‘return control back to the creator’.
Penny Rafferty is a writer and visual theorist based in Berlin, working at the crossroads of art, culture and technology. Her writing has been commissioned for Cura, Kaleidoscope Magazine, Flash Art and Elephant Magazine amongst others. She is one of the founders of The Black Swan DAO (2018 - ongoing) and co-developed the think tank series Artworld DAO's (2019 - ongoing).
About the series
Tokenomics: A New Economy of Art
Blockchain is changing how art is made, sold and financed, where it circulates and who its custodians are. But can it really increase the creative and economic agency of artists?
The explosion in popularity of NFTs over the past year marks a moment of radical transformation within the art market.
For better or worse, blockchain technology is ushering in new imaginaries and is rapidly evolving alternative sales, funding and ownership mechanisms which could rewrite the rules of the traditional art world.
What are the implications of blockchain tokenomics for how art is created, sold and financed, where art circulates and who its custodians are? Will the next generation of NFT’s and DAO’s increase creative and economic agency? And if so, how can this be shared more equitably between individual creators, their collaborators and supporters?
Curated by Lucy Rose Sollitt, Tokenomics: A New Economy of Art, brought together pioneering artists and technologists, to discuss the concerns and to highlight and support thoughtful approaches which use the full potential of the technology to imagine fairer ecosystems of art making.
The series addressed the defining questions of this new era with the aim of helping artists and those working across the art market to navigate the opportunities and complexities that lie ahead.
Update - Unfortunately Sarah Friend was not longer able to take part in this event.
