The 888 Inner Artist Initiative — March 2023 Update
It’s hard to believe that the first quarter of 2023 is already over. This past month, the 888 Inner Artist Initiative made significant progress in building our artist community, both for them and with them
The key theme of March was “communication.” Our efforts were dedicated to enhancing both the communication we provided to artists and the communication we received from them.
Last month, we announced a major revamp of how we conduct our weekly celebration of art. This month, we officially codified our rules, policies, and guidelines surrounding our weekly celebration of art in a new segment that we call, “Artists Ask” (which is not to be confused with our previous segment called “Asking Artists”).
In this new segment, we try to officially answer, in one detailed statement, commonly asked questions from artists. In the past, we would informally answer questions in our Discord server, but there was never one definitive place where artists could go to find the answer. Our new “Artists Ask” segment is meant to remedy that.
Naturally, the first “Artists Ask” question we chose to answer was the following: “What are the official rules, regulations, and procedures of your weekly celebration of art, where you purchase art from emerging artists?” In response to this we posted the official rules and guidelines for our weekly celebration of art in a special #artist-spotlight channel as our first “Artists Ask” answer.
In addition, we also did an internal “Asking Artists” (not to be confused with “Artists Ask”) question, where we sought the feedback of our artists with respect to how we contextualize artificial intelligence (A.I.) art. A rousing discussion was held in the artist-gated verified artist chat, and our artists offered a lot of valuable insight, which we will consider carefully for the future.
Weekly Celebration of Art
Here is the art that we have purchased since our last update.
Week 28
Be Wild & Free Always (video) by @wildalps
Week 29
Week 30
Week 31
Power of Positive Thinking by @betlisart1
Spotlight Artist AMAs
We also continue to offer the artists that we purchase art from an Ask Me Anything (AMA) interview in our Artist Spotlight channel.
Here is a sampling of the AMAs that we had this past month (slightly edited). To see the complete interviews, please visit the artist-spotlight channel in our Discord Server.
Manuela Ovalle, aka ladesignchile (who we previously purchased this piece from)
Question:
For those who may not know you, please feel free to introduce yourself and to tell us a bit about your journey, however you interpret the word “journey” (as a person, as an artist, as an explorer of Web 3.0, etc …).
Answer:
Hey! First of all thanks for having me here. It’s a huge pleasure to share this community of artists with all of you!
I started my artististic journey in Chile in 1995! Although I studied architecture, art was always what truly inspired me, as it showed in all of my architecture projects. I started designing objects as soon as I finished my degree, objects like: furniture, decorative lamps, etc… all this developed into my first sculpture projects. I was lucky enough to represent Chile with my sculptures in several art fairs around the world such as, Superstudio Piu (Milan), Feria del Mobile (Milan) and Art Basel (Switzerland), and Art Dubai, among others…. I have used old car parts and photographs taken by me to do certain sculptures, neons, and many other techniques. I have always been very enthusiastic in doing digital works, and as of now I am doing NFTs as a way of linking some of my physical works with the digital sphere. 888 IAI was a huge catalyser for me to start exploring this incredible new world! Here you can have a look at some of my physical works!
Question:
Please tell us about this piece you sent us. What was your inspiration for it?
Answer:
The photography presented was a photo I took awhile back in Japan while doing an art trip. I believe it captures Japanese culture in a “raw” way…it is one of my favourite pieces. This is why the NFT includes the physical piece, so that someone could have it at home and appreciate it as much as I do.
To learn more about Manuela, please visit her Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ladesignchile/). She is currently developing a new website to showcase her sculptures and new digital artworks. At the moment, she is working on her OpenSea collection, which can be found by searching for Manuela-Ovalle in OpenSea.
@crownandpalette (who partnered with @cedricfangeat, and from who we previously purchased this piece from)
Question:
For those who may not know you, please feel free to introduce yourself and to tell us a bit about your journey, however you interpret the word “journey” (as a person, as an artist, as an explorer of Web 3.0, etc …).
Answer:
My name is Andrea, founder and artist of Crown and Palette. I have been creating art since I was a child, and have been creating NFTs for two years now. I have gained recognition through various publications, podcasts, magazines, galleries, and exhibits worldwide, and have even been featured in high-profile events such as http://NFT.NYC and Art Basel Miami. I have sold over a hundred NFTs across multiple block-chains, supported several charitable initiatives and also have mentored a number of artists into the web3 space.
I am also a community leader, moderator, and Twitter spaces host for http://Joyn.xyz, a Toronto-based startup focused on empowering the next generation of creators and builders in the NFT space, connecting them to brands, partners and communities via open collaborations.
Here is another piece by the artist:
Question:
What advice would you give someone who is interested in art but is a complete beginner?
Answer:
As a collector, do your research in understanding how to secure your cryptocurrency and digital assets. Also, take the time to grasp what kind of art you like, what utility are artists bringing to their work and what interests you in that area and also to figure out the kind of relationship you’d like with the artists you collect from. What are your motivations for being a collector, is it to buy art you love or art you want to flip?
As an artist, the same approach applies for securing your assets, but also learning how blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies’ work prior to jumping in. In addition, build your community first before minting your first NFT, this will help you gain the support you need to build some momentum and get eyes on your work.
And here’s still another piece by the artist:
To learn more about this artist, please visit the artist’s Twitter at https://twitter.com/crownandpalette.
@irishnftgal
Question:
Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your personal journey, whether it be as an artist or explorer of Web 3.0? What led you to where you are today?
Answer:
I started NFTs in 2021 as a traditional artist looking to find a new way to sell my physical paintings. I quickly saw many artists struggle to sell their first NFT. I helped by exhibiting them all together in an oncyber metaverse. I started to advise other artists and brands in Web3. I have worked with some big projects including CryptoPunks V1 & CryptoSkulls. I regularly now talk about this crazy journey that is now my full time career.
Question:
Please tell us about the piece that you submitted for our weekly celebration of art. What was the inspiration behind it, and is there anything you’d like to share with the recipient of the piece?
Answer:
Riona is originally inspired by CryptoSkulls. It means “Queen” in Gaeilge (Irish language). A celtic warrior in Irish mythology.
A futuristic take on the past.
To learn more about this artist, please visit the artist’s Twitter at https://twitter.com/irishnftgal.
@moilovesjelly
Question:
For those who may not know you, please feel free to introduce yourself and to tell us a bit about your journey, however you interpret the word “journey” (as a person, as an artist, as an explorer of Web 3.0, etc …).
Answer:
Let me introduce myself. My name is Ralitsa and since I can remember I have dreamed of being an artist. I studied fine art in high school and that’s where my journey began. I first started with street art, pasting stickers with my character on the streets and painting on abandoned buildings. Then I participated in several group exhibitions. But all this was happening in my free time because I was working as a full time designer and as an illustrator from time to time. Little by little, design prevailed and art fell behind until I discovered the NFT space 🙂 And I’ve been here for a year already.
Question:
Please tell us about the piece that was submitted for our weekly celebration of art. What was the inspiration behind it? Anything you’d like to share with the recipient of your piece?
Answer:
This piece is the first of my new Quantum collection. As you can guess the inspiration is from the theories of quantum mechanics. The interesting thing about quantum mechanics is that it tries to explain the entire universe and even beyond through tiny particles. “Observation” tells about the wave theory, a particle can exist in different places at the same time, but when we observe it, we see only one of the possible states. But on the other hand, this particle probably continues to exist in other states that we do not see. Which means that maybe parallel worlds exist. Imagine that now in the room you exist simultaneously in several more states. It’s crazy, but it’s possible.
And here is another piece by the artist:
To learn more about the artist, please visit the artist’s Twitter at https://twitter.com/moilovesjelly.
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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 in order to receive the role.
