The Big Dream x Nifty Gateway
Imagine the world in 2030. What does this world look like to you?
This is the question global art collective Dreame has been asking people around the world since 2017. Over the past few years, dreamers’ responses have been transformed into works of art, representations of contributors’ aspirations and future visions actualized. Dreame’s creative approach invokes Van Gogh’s painting methodology — “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.”
This April, these dreams will literally take flight as the compilation of works travel onboard a SpaceX shuttle as part of the Rakia Mission for display in the International Space Station. Dreamers will not only be able to see their dream projected within the ISS but, perhaps far more profoundly, they will see a shared vision for our collective future. Generated by this collective visioning, Dreame hopes that the compilation will move citizens of the world to see beyond political and regional boundaries and collectively dream about a brighter future together.
Nifty Gateway has partnered with Dreame to release two artworks in support of this goal. The first release on April 5th is a beautiful arrangement and collage of dreams. The second — to be released alongside the reveal onboard the ISS — is a very special auction piece, an entirely new work embodying a singular vision generated by the dreamers’ submissions.
The auction winner will also receive curatorial rights to a selection of the 500 works used to create the final image. As curator, this collector will be entitled to select, mint, and sell a selection of the works and receive a percentage of sales/royalties. A truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a part of this universal project.
I was extremely excited to speak with Sharonna Karni Cohen from the Dreame Project about their story, this release, and the meaning behind this visionary project.
What is The Big Dream?
The Big Dream is a global art piece by the collective Dreame which has been in the works since 2017. Each year until 2020, we created artworks envisioning the future of different cities and countries inspired by the local dreamers of the areas. In 2020, we decided it is time to create art inspired by the dreamers of the world. The question posed is: Imagine the world in 2030. What does this world look like to you? We collected tens of thousands of dreams so far, from Chengdu China, to Kathmandu Nepal to Hamar in Norway and many other locations around the world. With fifty artists, we turned some of these dreams into individual artworks that were then collated into a magical video that was projected in over 20 locations around the world and is traveling to the International Space Station next week with the Rakia Mission.
And how would you describe it in one sentence?
The Big Dream is a multi-layered, multi-formatted interpretation of the future of our universe inspired by the citizens of planet earth.
Where has it traveled so far and why is it important for you to exhibit The Big Dream around the world?
Glimpses of the art have been exhibited in Leopold Museum, Vienna, Municipality Center in Chengdu, China; Mount Manaslu, Nepal; Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania; the Old Royal Naval College in London; Fed Square in Melbourne; Shibuya crossing in Tokyo; ZAZ10TS Gallery, Times Square, New York; Łódź, Poland; Hamar, Norway; Promenade Sainte-Catherine, Bordeaux; Peres Center for Peace & Innovation, Tel Aviv; and more. Next week it is traveling to the International Space Station, as part of the ‘Sky’ mission of Rakia with Eytan Stibbe projecting the final piece and heat map connecting all the dreams with the world.
In these times when so many of us are in our homes, on our screens and engulfed in boxes, we are aiming to bring this project to the physical world to as many places as possible so people can see their dreams in big and discuss with others the dreams they share. Art is such a powerful tool for transforming darkness into catharsis. For spreading messages and missions around the world. For a universal language that doesn’t require words. To evoke emotion that is underlying in our souls. To manifest ideas into tangible creations. To inspire and educate in ways that only art can.
Our entire mission with The Big Dream is to shout out to the entire world that each and every single one of us is an artist. With our creativity and imaginations. AI can never replace this tool that is the imagination. Our ability to dream from the depths of our minds, hearts and souls.
Why and how space?
So, the space journey begins with a conversation about the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals between my friend Amit and I. We were talking about turning the vision of each into art for the World Economic Forum and he was diving deeper into each of them and what they mean. Of course some of them are easier to understand than others; but every single one of them has so many missions and dreams.
This conversation in many ways inspired The Big Dream World and what the world will look like in 2030.
A year after collecting thousands of dreams and presenting some turned into art in a few locations, Amit shared with me that his dad is traveling to the International Space Station on the Rakia Mission with the Ramon Foundation, SpaceX and Axiom-A1. He is taking many scientific experiments with him and a few cool art and poetic projects. Amit shared with him and The Ramon Foundation the concept of The Big Dream and there was an immediate synergy. They wanted to collect kids’ dreams in drawing format and together we set out to collect dreams from around the world.
Inside the video that will be projected in the International Space Station, you will see a combination of the art and the drawings by kids.
In addition, Eytan is taking a flag, with a design of some of the dreams turned into art and 100 random dreams, which has also been to the top of Mount Manaslu and Mount Kilimanjaro.
Last but not least, during an event up in the ISS, Eytan will interact with the dream map. He will click on some dreams from different locations and zoom into the location the International Space Station is traveling over to highlight the dreams from there, and also click on the find similar feature, to see all the similar dreams around the world connected to that location. Creating a full universal connection.
Who are the artists?
So there are fifty artists. You can see them all here. The artists in over 36 different countries such as Taiwan, France, Norway, Israel, the USA, Morocco and many more. Over 50% of the artists are women.
I am so grateful to each and every one of the artists, and will expand on some of the active players —
Jæn quickly became co-founder and recruited most of the incredible and unique artists. We also included some Dreame artists from around the world. Jæn also contributed a few pieces himself inspired by some of the dreams.
Shaun Glowa is the maker and magician of the video art piece. He collated all five hundred pieces into a stunning video.
Patrick Sebag is the composer of the beautiful tune for the video.
Sagi Gafni is the tech wizz who developed the interactive dream map that enables you to explore the individual artworks, see your dream and also see if there are any other dreams similar to yours through natural language processing.
I believe thanks to this project I can call myself an artist. Jæn, our art director, enabled me to contribute three pieces. I also learned about the concept of being an artivist; creating positive change through art.
It is incredible how well we all worked together. It feels like we all have quite similar DNA. Whenever we had zoom calls, it would start off a bit awkward, but then gradually it felt like we were all connected. Laughing with each other, even making fun of each other, and supporting each other. It is not always easy to collaborate with so many artists, and with The Big Dream it just flowed so organically.
What do you hope participants take away from contributing their dreams to The Big Dream?
Over 30% of the dreams are connected to happiness, compassion, and optimism. We hope the participants, or in our words dreamers, feel more optimistic and hopeful about the future. That they learn something new about a dream for somewhere in the world; perhaps even next door to them. And that they believe in their own imaginations and the importance of using it. Lastly, that they join our ever growing collective of dreamers.The map of dreams is interactive and growing. You can click on a dream and find similar dreams around the world. You can see the variety of artistic styles interpreting these dreams from all the artists and over time see dreams for the future, REM dreams and more.
What have been some of the highlight moments for you along the way? Is there an especially fond memory or idea that stands out?
There are three highlights that stand out.
Dov Landau: Just as I passed the flag to the Ramon Foundation, who were passing it onto NASA, in Rabin Square, where the project was born in 2017, I was stopped by a 96 year old man at the crossroad. His name is Dov Landau. He asked me what the flag is for, and I explained to him about The Big Dream. I asked him if he wants to be the last person to hold the flag before it travels to space, and then about his dream for the future. He shared with me that he is a survivor from Auschwitz and that his dream is that “people will be kinder to each other, much more than in the past and the only way that can happen is optimism.” In essence, this is what The Big Dream is about.
The Artists Zoom: A few weeks ago we did a zoom with all the artists. It felt like a family and with over 36 countries represented, it felt like we were almost one yet each with our own cultures and perspectives
Artistic and project discussions with Jaen, Sagi, Glowa and Jordan (our cool legal counsel): So many debates. Endless to be honest. From little details in the final video to funny anecdotes to late night podcasts and to analyzing the artworks in what often feels like inception inside art or a history of art lesson in 2030.
How are proceeds from the project being used?
15% will go to NGOs. The rest is going to the Big Dream Artist Collective
All open editions will be a ticket to a DAO managing a wallet. This wallet is for donations to NGOs based on DAO members and votes. The DAO will choose NGOs also based on the themes and dreams shared with us so far. Ensuring the dreamers of the world play an active part in choosing what matters.
What is the NFT? (and how did this project come to include a NFT release)
We decided to make this project NFTs when it made sense later on. We chose NFTs for the positive impact of the DAO, communities, and the transcendence of universal borders in the world of blockchain.
The first NFT will be an affordable open edition in the format of a collage, in a printable huge size — inspired by the world, for the people.The collage is stunning.
The second NFT will be auctioned as a 1/1. The video created by Glowa with a soundtrack by Patrick Sebag, has traveled to many places around the world and the ISS, and features the artworks. The 1/1 Collector then becomes the Curator — they will curate a selection from the 500 pieces, and together, we will mint them and share these pieces with other collectors. The Curator, the individual artist of the piece, and the whole collective with the DAO all share proceeds of the curated collection. If the 1/1 is sold onwards, the new collector then becomes the new curator of all the individual pieces. We are excited about highlighting the individual pieces and the depth, diversity and dreamy art.
