“NFT – THE FUTURE OF ART?” | viennacontemporary x THE MINT from viennacontemporary on Vimeo.

Augmented and virtual realities are inextricably linked to everyday reality, making NFT an integral part of the art trade since 2014. As part of the viennacontemporary Talks-series, an international panel delved into the world of NFTs and explored how non-fungible tokens are revolutionizing art, how artists can use this new technology as a medium, and how futuristic approaches of our time might impact the coming decades in technology, society, culture, art, and the marketplace.

If you missed the Talk during viennacontemporary, 2021 you can re-watch it now here and browse some of the participant’s quotes.

Panel:

• Benoit Pagotto, Co-founder RTFKT and Partner and Curator in Chief at THE MINT
• Edward Cawley, KnownOrigin.io, Artist Relations
• MGXS – Fernando Magalhaes, Artist
• WEBB, Artist & Founder of CRYPTOWEEBS
• Rahilla Zafar, Executive Producer, MINTED (joining online)

Moderated by James Joseph, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of CYBR Magazine, Partner and Editorial Director at THE MINT

SELECTED QUOTES

“NFTs mean a revolution for the creative industries. We select the works not only on the basis of the image, but also on the personality of the artist– and their social media appearance – are they serious about NFTs, do they push it?  We will continue to develop features that empower creatives. And the community has an active say in creating our marketplace.” 

– Edward Cawley, KnownOrigin.io, Artist Relations

“My work is a collaboration between me and my computer: I never touch the piece, but I develop systems for the brush, the paint, the lines – and the computer creates the work. I used to work in an agency and art was a hobby. When NFTs came up, I thought: Oh, maybe I’m an artist after all – I gave it a shot and it worked out!”
– MGXS – Fernando Magalhaes, Artist

“The NFT world is a global movement of builders and creators. It is an open, democratic movement that everybody can access and that allows people to connect. NFT changed the financial situation of so many artists.”
– Rahilla Zafar, Executive Producer, MINTED 

“During the pandemic, all the shows were cancelled and people were locked in individually. However, art is something you usually discover together with others. So I created an exhibition in the form of an interactive, multiplayer game. That is my main question right now: How can we go away from looking at NFTs on a screen and start experiencing it in the three dimensional world?”
– WEBB, Artist & Founder of CRYPTOWEEBS

“NFTs are the bridge we artists were looking for all the time: We were working for the big guys – Instagram, Facebook, the film industry – and now the money started flowing to the hands of us creatives directly. NFTs empowered creatives to quit their day job and do their own work.” 
– WEBB, Artist & Founder of CRYPTOWEEBS

“Since Covid, the market has boomed!. We can really notice a shift in paradigm: all those newly discovered artists, they do not want to be exhibited at the MoMA, they have other dreams – like creating a video game. There are more people in the world interested in Pokemon than in Damian Hirst.”
– Benoit Pagotto, Co-founder RTFKT and Partner and Curator in Chief at THE MINT

“Collectors play a very active role, they organize group shows and push their artists. Also artists have to learn to self-market themselves on their social media profiles. The auction houses like Sotheby’s adapted fast to the change. The galleries, however, are still waiting, and the longer they wait, the more difficult it will be for them to hop on board.”
– Benoit Pagotto, Co-founder RTFKT and Partner and Curator in Chief at THE MINT

“Sales of NFTs are 90 percent aesthetics-driven. The art does not need to be contextualized like in a museum or gallery exhibition. Even if you do not know anything about art, but you are smart, you can find your way around Twitter and Discord, you can make a lot of money really fast.”
– Benoit Pagotto, Co-founder RTFKT and Partner and Curator in Chief at THE MINT