The 888 Inner Artist Initiative — December 2023 Update & Year End Review
Note: There are many links in the below article, including many to artist Twitter/X pages. Like with all things in Web 3.0, please be careful with respect to your personal security, particularly when clicking on links. We have made reasonable attempts to link to credible sources, as known to us at the time of writing. However, sites such as Twitter/X pages, can sometimes be hacked or compromised over time. Please exercise due diligence and do your own research when clicking on any links, particularly links that may take you to a site that asks you to connect a wallet. Please exercise caution and be safe.
2023 was an incredible year for the 888 Inner Artist Initiative
Perhaps the best way to contextualize the year we had is to look back to the 2022 end of year update, published over a year ago, and chart the progress that we’ve made.
- In last year’s update, we stated, “To date, we have purchased 20 pieces of art, and our latest event has received over 100 submissions, which is a record for us.” As seen below, we have continued to consistently purchase a new piece of art every week for the past year. We can now say, “To date, we have purchased over 70 pieces of art.” Also, our weekly event now regularly gets well over 100 submissions every week, so what was a record a year ago has now become routine.
- In last year’s update, we stated, “We have grown our ‘Verified Inner Artist’ community in an organic fashion, one artist at a time. Just last week, we passed a major milestone. To date, we have assigned the Verified Inner Artist role to over 88 artists.” Today, we can now say, “To date, we have assigned the Verified Inner Artist role to over 550 artists.” That is 525% growth in the course of a year. We are also still accepting applications for new Verified Inner Artists here.
- In last year’s update, we stated, “In addition to working directly with artists, we have also been exploring strategic partnerships in order to provide increased opportunities for artists.” Perhaps our most significant milestone of 2023 was our “In Real Life” (IRL) event in Barcelona, where we partnered with the wonderful Mrs. Toolip Art Gallery to showcase art from over 50 of our Verified Inner Artists. The full recap of that event can be found here. Also, as seen below, beyond opportunities IRL, we have also explored opportunities for our artists in the metaverse, and beyond.
In this update, you will find links to every monthly update published over the past year. We have done a lot, so we encourage you to visit our past updates for further details.
SuperCommunity Event
At the beginning of the month, our friends at Paladin Punks (which was founded by one of our Verified Inner Artists and token holders) invited us to a very unique opportunity that was co-organized by them, the VAVortex AI Art Community (led by another Verified Inner Artist), and the LinkedByArt community. We were invited to participate in a “SuperCommunity” event that brought together many independent artist communities within Web 3.0; in total, there were 18 communities represented, each with a mini-exhibit within the amazing SuperCommunity OnCyber metaverse museum, which was designed by 0xWolfgang, one of the premier metaverse architects in the Space.
The event was an incredible metaverse experience, a true representation of the potential of Web 3.0 for online communities. There was music; there was dancing (via avatar); and there was a lot of art displayed. It was an honor and a privilege to connect with and learn about different projects that share the same values that we do, which is to support and empower artists.
Here were some of the artists and independent artist communities that were represented at the event:
- @ResetNft
- @ItsNaastaaraan
- @SongsOfEden
- @invisiblechick
- @moonmars
- @VAVortex
- @NFTGoddesses
- @888InnerCircle
- @photoxNFT
- @WITMuseum
- @cactus_boom
- @wildalps
- @LinkedByArt
- @TurboToadToken
- @ArtPacksIO
- @0xWolfgang
- @OGCollective200
Here were the Verified Inner Artists from our community that were represented in our SuperCommunity exhibition:
- @yeganehYEK
- @Erfan_Samanfar
- @ladanashaseh
- @juzoart
- @nakaliang_
- @pranaynigotiya
- @nilyphoto
- @ilia_NFTizer
- @chazz_gold
- @Madebymiim
We encourage our audience to check out the amazing SuperCommunity museum at https://oncyber.io/supercommunity.
MoonMars Representation by MONTREAL.AI
In addition to organizing the SuperCommunity event, Paladin Punks and VAVortex AI Art Community, along with 0xWolfgang and @frankNFT_eth, also founded the MoonMars project, an ambitious project that seeks to bring art to the moon.
The MoonMars project is on a journey to bring the best of humanity into the future through the universal language of art, science, and technology. It will begin by sending 47 pieces of art to the moon. These artworks, representing a diverse community of artists, will be in digital form. They will be transported via a chip that is housed in a capsule and placed aboard a moon lander. An analogue disc with the 47 artworks will also be sent with the digital versions. It will be printed on a nano-fiche that will also go inside the moonlander payload.
In addition, the project will be creating the MoonMars Museum, which will display, in the metaverse, the digital art that will be physically carried to the moon. In time, the MoonMars Museum aims to create art installations on multiple and various spacecraft, becoming a combined digital and physical interplanetary museum on the moon, Mars, and beyond.
The theme of the first collection of art being sent into space is, “DNA of Humanity: The Essence of Being Human.”
The art in this collection will be among the first ever pieces sent up to the moon, giving it a potentially great amount of technological, cultural, historical, and artistic significance.
The MoonMars project also represents a great amount of significance for the 888 Inner Circle. This is because Paladin Punks has graciously given us the opportunity to have our project and community represented through one of the 47 lunar-bound pieces.
We needed to find an artist who was not only talented but who also had a deep understanding of our project and our community, someone who would not only create beautiful art but who could also tell the story of the 888 Inner Circle community through that art. We could think of no better candidate to represent us than Vincent Boucher, aka MONTREAL.AI (as he is known in our Server).
Vincent is not only an 888 Inner Circle “OG” and one of our most significant token holders. He is also acclaimed, accomplished, and successful in his field, working hard to build decentralized AGI. Beyond his many accolades and accomplishments, he’s an incredibly talented Verified Inner Artist who is a pioneer in AI art, and from whom we’ve previously purchased art. But what truly sets Vincent apart is his unwavering support for our community. He consistently shares his time, talent, good vibes, and expertise with us all. He’s also made significant sacrifices for our community, like when he volunteered to provide Genesis Drop 4. We announced this during our IRL event in NYC, where Vincent made a special video appearance to address our community members.
We approached Vincent, and as is customary for him, he dropped what he was doing to help us. Here is what he came up with. Suffice it to say, we were awed.
This is the piece that will be representing the 888 Inner Circle community on the moon. The level of care, consideration, and detail that Vincent put into this piece blew us away. We kept coming back to the piece again and again, finding new intricacies every time we looked at it.
Here were some details about the piece that were especially intriguing and fitting:
- An incredible vast digital network, beautifully symbolized by an intricate web of wondrous light, connecting the beautiful tokens and avatars. This web is to represent the forever blockchain — the underlying technology of the Web3 space — beautifully tying together the incredible essence of humanity with the grandiose future of technology and artistry.
- A ‘Gallery of Eternity’, displaying timeless artworks that transition and evolve, symbolizing the perpetual evolution of art in the incredible digital age. Within this grandiose gallery, the tokens serve as keys to an immortal legacy, granting access to a virtual space where art and human identity are preserved forever.
For those that would like to participate in the MoonMars project, MoonMars Museum tickets are on sale here. These tickets will enter you in a raffle for one of the 47 pieces going to the moon. For those interested in potentially owning an NFT that is connected to a beautiful piece of artwork on the moon, please feel free to check it out!
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude for this unique and amazing opportunity. Thank you to Paladin Punks, and thank you to Montreal.AI. You exemplify the kind of members we cherish in our community — generous, talented, and visionary. Your kindness and contributions are sincerely appreciated. We are grateful for your active participation and for the positive impact you continue to make within our community.
Weekly Celebration of Art (Updated Policy)
To help keep everyone up to date about the rules, guidelines, and policies surrounding our weekly celebration of art, we have created this separate document, which we plan to keep updated.
Weekly Celebration of Art (Purchased Art)
Here is the art that we purchased in the month of December. As discussed here, all of the purchased pieces will now be stored in an IAI Vault, and we will seek different ways to continue to spotlight these pieces.
Week 67
Week 68
Week 69
Week 70
Week 71
2023 Monthly Updates Recap
Here were all of the 2023 monthly updates, including a brief glimpse at all of the art that we purchased. Please see the updates for full looks at the art and more info about the artists behind the pieces.
IAI January 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI February 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI March 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI April 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI May 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI June 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI July 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI August 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI September 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI October 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
IAI November 2023 Update
Artists of the pieces purchased:
Artist Spotlight Profile Interviews
In the past, we offered artists that we purchased art from a spotlight interview in the “artist spotlight” channel within our Discord Server. This past month, we revamped that channel, so that any Verified Inner Artist could now submit an artist spotlight profile interview, as a way to introduce themselves to our greater community and to more effectively tell their stories. It is also our intention to use this space in our monthly updates to help showcase some of the artists in our community by referring to their profiles.
Here are the eight questions we’ve invited our artists to answer:
- Introduction and Artistic Journey: Could you briefly introduce yourself and describe your journey as a person and as an artist? (e.g., how you started, any major influences or turning points)
- Artistic Style and Mediums: What unique styles, techniques, or mediums do you predominantly use in your art? How would you describe your artistic voice or signature?
- Showcase and Storytelling: Please share up to three pieces of your artwork (photos and/or marketplace links). For each, could you tell us the story behind it? (Consider aspects like inspiration, creation process, and personal significance. Additionally, if we have purchased a piece from you, feel free to include it as an optional fourth piece.)
- Artistic Challenges and Growth: What has been the most challenging aspect of your artistic journey, and how has it contributed to your growth as an artist?
- Art in the Digital Age: How do you feel about the intersection of art and technology, especially in the context of digital art and NFTs?
- Future Aspirations: What are your future goals or projects as an artist? Is there a dream project or collaboration you aspire to realize?
- Message to the Community: What message or advice would you like to share with fellow artists and our community of art enthusiasts?
- To Learn More: Where can our audience learn more about you?
Here is a sample of some responses from some artists that have already created their spotlight artist profile. Please visit our Discord Server to see their complete responses.
Spotlight Artist: Arian Darbandi
My name is Arian Darbandi. from Iran. 41 years old. I started NFT in 2021 on the recommendation of a friend. Before getting acquainted with NFT, I only did physical work, but now in these three years, all my works are designed and edited digitally with Photoshop. During this time, I have participated in many exhibitions and gatherings and my works have been displayed for example: (Dubai NFT Dreams Exhibition — the first place in the New Hope competition under the leadership of NFT Dreams and selected in NFT.NYC 2024).
Selected Piece: Courage
This work is a symbol of the courage and bravery of the women and girls of my country. In memory of loved ones who are no longer with us.
In memory of loved ones who fought for freedom.
Spotlight Artist: Chazz Gold
I’m Chazz Gold, a Photographer, DJ, addiction counselor, Gan / AI artist, NFT creator, and collector. I am blockchain agnostic as an artist and avid collector on multiple different platforms and chains. My art has been displayed at conferences, shows, and exhibitions all around the world in over a dozen countries. My art is steeped in futuristic tech, cybernetic qualities, sacred geometry, mysticism and spirituality to create a unique view into a world I am shaping through manifestations of energy to come true.
Selected Piece: Rorschach Mycelium Network
Rorschach Mycelium Network speaks to my need and desire for balance in my world. The two heads represent the duality of nature, the yin and yang, the light and the dark. This is a recurring theme that shows up in my art. Rorschach Mycelium Network was also part of the IRL Showcase event at @MrsToolipArt gallery hosted by @888InnerCircle.
Spotlight Artist: Parallax Rendering
I am Parallax Rendering, an artist who treads the fine line between code and canvas. My odyssey commenced in the structured universe of software engineering, where logic and order reigned supreme. This discipline has profoundly influenced my artistic beginnings and breakthroughs on the blockchain-driven platform of Tezos FxHash. My quest as an artist is rooted in a profound commitment to reveal the intimate dance between creativity and technology, manifesting in digital art forms that are as unique as they are evocative.
Selected Piece: Leftover
“Leftover” is not merely art; it is a somber reflection — an echo of humanity’s discordant symphony with nature. Concocted from the same digital threads as its predecessor, it showcases a world where the remnants of human presence are but scars upon the land.
Looking Ahead to 2024
It is hopefully evident from this 2023 end of year update that the 888 Inner Artist Initiative has done a lot over the past year.
In 2024, we aim to keep the momentum going. We will continue to purchase art from emerging artists, and we will continue to grow our Verified Inner Artist community. We will seek out different ways to spotlight art and artists, and we will also seek out new and exciting opportunities for our artists. We will also aim to create a tighter connection between our Verified Inner Artists and our token holding members. And we hope to synergize with other endeavors that 888 may be working on 🤍✨
One fun, little opportunity that we can announce right now is this:
We have been using the same banner image for our IAI monthly updates ever since we began doing these updates. We would like a new banner image. Actually, we’d like a new banner image every month.
Here is the offer to our Verified Inner Artists: If you create a new “888 Inner Artist Initiative” banner image for us, we may choose to display it top, front, and center in a future IAI monthly update, while also dedicating a section in that update to spotlight you as our “Banner Artist of the Month.” We will also use that section to showcase your art. More details will be given within the artist-gated verified artist chat of our Discord Server.
So in addition to saying goodbye to 2023, let us say goodbye to our current banner image.
In Conclusion, and with Gratitude
The 888 Inner Artist Initiative (IAI) could not be possible without all of our amazing artists. As we’ve often said, artists are the lifeblood of Web 3.0, and you are certainly the lifeblood of the 888 Inner Artist Initiative. Thank you for all of your participation and feedback this past year, and thank you for building with us.
Thank you also to all of our artist-supporting community members. This past year, we’ve had community members step up to support our artists in various ways, such as serving as guest curators in our weekly celebration of art and participating in votes to create more artist-friendly policies.
Finally, thank you to 888, 888 IC Team, and IAI Team for all the small and big things that you do to keep the 888 Inner Artist Initiative alive and operational. IAI is able to support artists because you support IAI.
Here’s to an amazing 2024!
***
As a reminder, the 888 Inner Artist Initiative is not just a single program. Rather, it is a comprehensive and ever-increasing set of efforts and endeavors designed to celebrate, empower, and support artists. Our goal is to meet the various needs of various artists, in a wide variety of ways, wherever they may be on their artistic journey.
For more information, please join our Discord server, follow our Twitter, and view our Medium. Also, as a reminder, if you are an artist, we encourage you to apply to become a Verified Inner Artist. No token purchase is necessary, but you will need to join our Server and be verified as a community member (by going to our verify-to-access-server channel) in order to receive the role.