The first ever “NFT BK Week” just started in Bed-Stuy with a series of experiences around digital art in all its forms. The event week is organized by SEED Brklyn, a unique multi-use area that has a clothing store, art gallery and coffee bar.
The series kicked off with an opening party on Wednesday, April 12, featuring a performance from local singer-songwriter LATASHÁ, who is the founder of Zoratopia, a platform for artists using NFT.
Other upcoming events include an augmented reality workshop, two meditation sessions, an immersive AR experience and a closing party on Saturday, April 15. All of the week’s events are free.
An NFT – which stands for ‘non-fungible token’ – is a piece of digital art that can be bought and sold online. Each NFT has a unique code created using blockchain technology, which makes it easy to track the ownership and authenticity of a work of art. When selling an NFT, artists can also receive royalties each time ownership changes.
Hosting these events is part of SEED’s larger mission to diversify the NFT space and introduce these concepts to people who aren’t familiar.
“Often, at events like these, it’s mainly just white men who are in the tech space. And I feel like it’s been a turn-off for a lot of different artists and people who are curious,” says Joel Campo, director of Web3 Initiatives at SEED.
Web3 refers to the idea of a new version of the internet that incorporates concepts including token-based economics, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
SEED was founded by Christophe Roberts, an interdisciplinary artist who has lived in Bed-Stuy for the past 13 years.
“In New York, it’s hard to find an area where you can be the first of a kind,” Roberts said.
“As an artist, I always get excited when I have the chance to present something that is unique and its own, and also beneficial to the people who interact with it.”
Roberts said Oasis Gallery and SEED Brklyn are “a destination for people who come to the borough to really interact with the talent that really makes Bed-Stuy what it is.”
SEED’s Oasis Gallery presents a new exhibition as part of its NFT week. The show, “Seed the Sunrise,” features work from digital artist Elise Swopes and other artists from the Sunrise Art Club, a collective of women of color in the Web3 art space. Visitors to the exhibition can scan a code to learn more about the pieces.
Swopes began selling her art on the online NFT marketplace SuperRare in 2021. Since then, she has fully embraced the medium. She said it cuts out intermediary between artist and consumer, which gives the artist more freedom over what they create and who their work goes to.
“To me, Web3 and NFTs are a solution to a problem,” Swopes said. “It’s really a reliable process that allows a creator to dictate how they want to behave.”
NFT BK Week coincides with NYC NFT 2023, which is happening right now in Manhattan.
“We’re in this wave of technology where people need to be educated about what’s coming, but people need to interact with it in a cool and fun way,” Roberts said.
