New NFT Drop aims to help the imprisoned activist Assange

Famous multimedia artist Miltos Manetas has announced his new work of art, a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) dedicated to the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The landmark collection, called This Cannot Be Erased, will be part of the 7th Internet Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale Festival, which runs from April 23 to November 27. The Internet Pavilion, the festival’s only technology tent, is this year dedicated to the beleagured activist and carries the slogan “Assange is the Internet The Internet is Assange.”

Manetas’ long-awaited NFT drop contains no less than 111 tokenized portraits of the Australian, whose upcoming extradition to the United States last week was rubber-stamped by US Secretary of the Interior Priti Patel. The historic NFTs will be minted in three phases with 37 tokens from 23 June.

Strikes a blow against censorship

Manetas is no stranger to Assange, the couple have become good friends many years ago. Assange’s cause is one that Maneta’s passionately supports; in fact, the artist has been a passionate believer in openness and freedom on the internet since the late 1990s.

In 2009, Manetas created the first edition of the Internet Pavilion after being commissioned by the Venice Biennale, after which the artist invited a number of representatives from the activist website The Pirate Bay to inaugurate the Piracy Embassy. Last year, he donated 222 oil-on-canvas paintings of Assange to supporters of the imprisoned journalist, a move that helped drive the #AssangePower movement.

This Cannot Be Erased, a collaboration with British composer and producer Howie B and art director Jerome Sans, is a continuation of this work as the holders of the 111 tokenized portraits are set to become Trustees of the AIIA (Assange is Internet Internet is Assange ). Essentially, this means that they can exert influence in the internet pavilion to ensure that funds raised are invested in projects that reflect the theme at the heart of Assange’s cause: freedom in the internet age.

The collection has been tokenized on Materia, an emerging blockchain-based platform founded by professionals in the art industry as curators and collectors, in collaboration with blockchain experts. Although Materia has its own native chain, the platform’s architecture is integrated with the world’s most widely used blockchain network and one that has become synonymous with NFT art: Ethereum.

Although Assange is not involved in the collection, Manetas confirmed that his friend is aware of the fall. Unfortunately, Assange’s contact with the outside world is largely limited to quick phone calls with his legal team, who are feverishly working to put the brakes on his extradition. If convicted of espionage in the United States, the WikiLeaks character could face a life sentence of up to 175 years in prison.

Manetas decided to commit its Assange paintings to the blockchain to ensure that they are never subjected to the censorship that their motif has undergone. A promise that is reflected in the collection’s name, This Can Not Be Erased.

This is not the first time Julian Assange’s case has been taken up by blockchain enthusiasts. Earlier this year, the crypto artist Pak unveiled his NFT series Censored, which raised over $ 54 million to fund the journalist’s legal battle. Interestingly, Maneta’s channel for this collaboration was after introducing Assange for Pak.

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