Aniseed
Art and NFTs Meet Social Responsibility
Written by Beth Jochim
The last few months have seen a growing and unstoppable interest in NFTs, or non-fungible tokens that represent both digital and physical assets on the blockchain. Their popularity stems from the implications that they bring with them, ranging from the traceability of an asset to the verification of its originality and ownership, up to the smart contracts that regulate relationships with the artists who created them (for example, they can establish that an artist receives royalties every time the token is resold and bought).
Beyond the criticisms for their equally important environmental impact, to which artists and experts are currently trying to find a solution at least in the medium term, NFTs are proving to be tools that manage to support the artists, and to ensure transparency for the buyers.
Launched in London in July 2021, Aniseed is the first charity NFT Marketplace that aims at supporting the work of charities and NGOs. It was founded by Duncan Murray, an expert in financial services, blockchain and charity sectors, with brand strategist Tom Brunner, marketing expert Davin Broadbent, and creative technologist Kadine James. Its mission revolves around the protection of the remaining ecosystems of our planet, offering a concrete hand in raising funds for associations that are dedicated to charitable activities and are currently recovering from the pandemic caused by Covid-19.
Murray and Aniseed co-founders seek to use NTFs as a tool that makes a difference in opening a new revenue stream for charities whose activities are aligned with the platform’s mission, in order to enable the continuation of their businesses.
Aniseed, which is a carbon negative platform by offsetting “the carbon of each and every NFT sold”, has been designed to accommodate digital representations of rare and endangered flora and fauna, allowing buyers to offer their support to the conservation and protection of such animals and places, but also to increase their portfolio of rare collectibles thematically related to environmental protection. The non-fungible tokens can be purchased in cryptocurrency (Ethereum) and in fiat (pounds and dollars).
“NFT’s are a new creation and offer users a fun and unique way to support their favourite charities. We are solving many of the issues which are inherent in traditional charitable donations, notably transparency and ongoing engagement. By using aniseed.com, you will be able to help save the world, without any significant change to your usual donation habits. Charities will be able to create an NFT marketplace for free on the platform, and 80% of these sales will be donated to those good causes all around the world.” — Duncan Murray, Founder of Aniseed.
Each sale on Aniseed directly benefits the chosen charity, representing a concrete step towards greater social awareness, and opening up a further space for the artists interested in the initiative.
Aniseed’s first NFT collection will give users the opportunity to purchase NFTs in support of the Rainforest Trust. A percentage of each sale will be donated to the Conservation Action Fund which supports the Rainforest Trust’s most urgent activities, activating actions to help indigenous communities, species in danger, and to mitigate climate change.
The collection has been created primarily in conjunction with The Immersive KIND, a multidisciplinary collective and studio specializing in VR, AR, MR, XR, AI, immersive technologies, and game engine software (such as Blender, Unity, Unreal Engine 4). In addition, Aniseed has involved creators from all over the world who have been engaged through Electroneum, a blockchain-based platform that aims at unlocking the digital economy in the developing world.
Further collections will be released in July and August 2021 in support of Plastic Bank, WWF, and other organizations.
Creative Technologist and Founder of The Immersive Kind, Kadine James explained that there is a tremendous potential in the NFT and blockchain space not just from the perspective of the artists. Non fungible tokens can impact and radically transform a wide range of industries while “the opportunities for charities and socially focused organizations to unlock new audiences, contributors and supporters are just the tip of the iceberg.”
James, who is CEO and Founder of The Immersive Kind, is also a Creative Technologist and a Tech Evangelist. A prominent figure in the UK, she brings in the project her 12 years of experience working in 3D Printing, VR, AR, MR, XR, and immersive technologies. Actively seeking, supporting, and promoting interdisciplinary collaborations, her mission is to build new ecosystems for creatives and design inclusive approaches and solutions for a digitized society. A Fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) whose work aims to benefit society through action and innovative ideas, James is also a member of the Creative Industries advisory board at UK5G. Her interest in NFTs is proof of a natural and coherent progression of the work she has carried out so far in the digital space.
The Immersive KIND’s collection designed for Aniseed gives space to the work of the London-based VR artist Lorna Inman ,who uses VR technology “to paint entire worlds to create immersive experiences and videos. “
The artist’s interest in immersive arts has developed from studies that showed how virtual reality can have a positive impact on the users. Inman creates VR environments by hand-painting scenes in 3D space using the software Tilt Brush by Google. The tool is “a room-scale 3D-painting virtual-reality application” (source), which has been developed by Skillman & Hackett, and with which Inman creates storytelling through 3D environment design.
Before accessing VR technology, during her time at university the artist tried to make her paintings immersive by digitally manipulating them to be viewed in 360°. Her exploration of urban parks and landscapes is a research into human behavior, becoming a place for reflection and silence.
Cartoon-like shapes, with saturated colors and smooth textures, express the inner world of the artist and the personal perception of the encounter between human and nature.
To find out more about the first collection by Aniseed, please visit www.aniseed.com.
