Miami Art Week Live Blog Day 3: The Gateway and Beyond
With Miami Art Week almost reaching critical mass, so is The Gateway: A Web3 Metropolis. Over the past few days, downtown Miami and beyond have instantly been transformed into hubs for all things Web3. In collaboration with MoonPay and Mana Comnmon, nft has now taken over two entire city blocks located in the heart of downtown Miami to bring The Gateway to life. The third day of exclusive panels features chats with Shira Lazar about the future of community building, the continued evolution of Web3 media by former TIME President Keith Grossman, and a broad look at the state of music NFTs with nft now Co-Founder Sam Hysell in conversation with Latashá, Shannon Herber, Spottie Wifi and Cooper Turley.
So what happened during this day-long block of The Gateway 2022? Headlining The Gateway’s second day of Miami Art Week alongside programming at the Dupont Building were panels featuring Instagram, MoonPay, RTFKT, Christie’s and more, talking about the future of their respective brands within Web3.
For RTFKT, its forward-thinking application of blockchain technology seemed to integrate the calling card of one of its most notable working relationships: high-quality footwear. Thanks to its ongoing partnership with sportswear giant Nike, RTFKT finds itself uniquely equipped to deliver NFT-enabled apparel. As revealed at yesterday’s Gateway panel, RTFKT and Nike are working to realize this opportunity through the upcoming launch of Cryptokicks, a planned line of smart footwear. Further details of the launch are scheduled for announcement on December 5.
As for what was going on throughout the rest of Miami Art Week, if this installation was anything to go by, controlled chaos was more or less the norm as artists worked abundantly to push the envelope of creative expression further and further with their unconventional artworks and installations. A highlight unveiled earlier this week that exemplifies this is the Living Room by Random International which logs the movement data of guests exploring the installation, visualizes it and gives guests the opportunity to create it as an NFT.
A rare showing of a “film under construction in Web3”
In 2020, artist JN Silva was in a clubhouse talking about NFTs and the power of royalties when a prominent late 60s psychedelic artist in the audience asked to speak. According to Silva, he shared, “I just stumbled into this room. I had no idea what was going on. But this would have single-handedly changed my life if it had existed when I was creating art.
The artist, whom Silva did not name, sold pieces throughout the ’60s and ’70s during what he called a “prime period.” Today, however, his works are sold for millions, but due to the nature of physical artwork, he hasn’t seen a dime. “Imagine if I had received royalties from all these works,” the artist told Silva, “I would have the mental freedom to continue practicing my creativity and not have to fight against an earlier version of myself. The meaning of royalties was a featured thread during The Gateway panel “The State of Film NFTs,” featuring Silva, filmmaker Nelson G. Navarrete, and filmmaker Julie Pacino.
Pacino, one of the first to finance a film with NFTs, further emphasized the importance of royalties, saying they “should never go away” — and they don’t just benefit the artist. “[Royalties] is exciting from a collector’s point of view because if [I]the artist, [am] sell you some work and then I go and hustle and raise my value, then you are [also] going to benefit from it.”
But royalties aren’t the only reason directors and producers turn to NFTs. “It’s very valuable to connect with people who are interested in your work before you’ve even shot the film. It is a miraculous thing. They can inform the creative process and help convey your vision,” explained Pacino. Although the panel may have passed, fans of Film3 still have the opportunity to see Navarrete and Silva share some of their work tonight.
Co-directors Navarrete and Alex Ulises host a screening of their documentary “Idiosincracia Latina” along with “NEA,” the teaser for Buscando América — “a fiction film under construction in Web3” that Silva executive produced. “Our main motivation is to build the infrastructure that helps new filmmakers tell their stories […] without having to go through the structures that are traditionally difficult, said Navarrete.
The screening will begin at 7:30 PM and will be held at 164 NW 30th Street, Miami, Florida.
