Whatever you do, don’t screenshot this. An NFT museum – the first in the world – has just opened in Seattle. Non-fungible tokens are now officially establishment art, we guess.
If you aren’t already up on NFTs, here’s how they work. Using blockchain technology, digital artworks – like those jpegs of bored apes you’ve seen all over Twitter – are uniquely owned by whoever buys them. Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton are really into them. And this gallery aims to explore what this all means for art. Real art.
The rotating curation of NFTs are displayed on screens throughout the 3,000-square-foot exhibition space. An ‘educator’ is apparently on hand to discuss all things crypto with visitors. The current headliner is a series by LA-based artist Blake Kathryn – think dreamy, bubblegum-hued alien landscapes.
Local NFT creators are exhibited, too. Photographer Charles Peterson has turned unseen photographs of Kurt Cobain into blockchain-worthy works. Also on board is Neon Saltwater, who describes themselves as a ‘3D render artist and environmental designer making emotional rooms real and not real’.
Founder Peter Hamilton said digital art has been underrepresented ‘because of its right-click-save-as nature’. While NFT enthusiasts might get very annoyed by the suggestion that this might still be the case, Hamilton is optimistic. ‘We’re just really excited to start bringing some more notoriety to those types of artists,’ he says.
Intrigued by the idea? Want to check it out? Entry costs $15 (£11) and you can book a visit here.
Now find out why 2022 may be the year NFTs become actually good, according to our art critic.