Conceptual artist Ahmet Öğüt debuts in Web3 with a collection of NFT monuments commemorating whistleblowers

Activism is not a word one usually associates with NFTs. Blockchain work may have continued art’s tradition of harnessing new technologies, generating hype through artificial scarcity, and questioning everything that has come before, but it has left the penchant for political protest largely offline.

One platform bringing activism to the blockchain is Artwrld, a project launched in early 2022 with the intention of collaborating with thoughtful creatives on provocative pieces. Its initial roster of signed artists suggested an intention to counter the NFT scene’s saccharine optimism with works of sociopolitical commentary. So far it has been followed up.

First came Walid Raad’s “Festival of Gratitude,” a series of spinning birthday cakes dedicated to the 20th century’s most infamous dictators, complete with sparklers, candles and confetti. Now it is the turn of the Turkish artist Ahmet Öğüt, whose “Monuments of the Disclosed” commemorates nine whistleblowers with their busts floating above concrete pillars.

“Ahmet has worked across a variety of media to imagine and enact critical artworks of resistance and imagination,” Kerin Sulock, production director, told Artnet News. “We thought he was a perfect artist to work with.”

On December 15, the collection of 99 unique NFTs will become public.

The NFTs are 3D monuments – designed in gold, silver and bronze – with augmented reality functionality, meaning that a few taps on a smartphone transport the heralds into physical space. The digital sculptures intentionally pay tribute to whistleblowers who have been overlooked by the media, which means no Edward Snowden and no Julian Assange.

Those honored include Marlene Garcia-Esperat, a journalist murdered for exposing government corruption in the Philippines; Mona Hanna-Attisha, whose research exposed the water quality crisis in Flint, Michigan; and Philip Saviano, a sexual abuse survivor who relentlessly pursued the scourge of pedophilia in the Boston clergy.

Ahmet Öğüt, Bunnatine Greenhouse (Bronze, Plinth 3) (2022). Photo: courtesy of Artwrld.

“I wanted to create monuments that spoke to courageous acts of resistance,” Öğüt said. “The work they risked everything for was for the best, and so these busts stand for more than themselves.”

Fittingly, as with all Artwrld projects, proceeds from the sale benefit more than the platform and creator with 10 percent of primary sales split evenly between Protocinema, an organization that commissions site-aware art globally, and The National Whistleblower Center. They will also receive 0.5 percent of secondary sales.

This philanthropic aspect of Artwrld is one element that sets the platform apart from many others that have emerged in the past year hoping to bring traditional collectors into the new frontier of digital art. With the shadowy realm of cryptocurrencies widely confused with NFTs, Artwrld understands the importance of taking a gradual approach and ensuring the validity of all the projects it supports.

Still images from Walid Raad’s digital artwork, The festival of gratitude (2022). Photo: courtesy of Artwrld.

“I don’t want to paint the picture that this is smooth sailing. We take a turtle vs. hare approach, and it can be difficult to get the traditional contemporary art collector to embrace this world, Sulock said. “We firmly believe that blockchain’s legs are powerful, and that working with great artists over time and with consistency is our recipe for success.”

After selling out almost all of the NFTs from Artwrld’s first two collections, it seems to be a recipe that works.

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