IMPAKT’s Guide to NFTs
A selection of IMPAKT events to delve deeper into the world of NFTs
There is a lot of excitement around the current NFT boom. NFTs stand for Non-Fungible Tokens and are in essence non-interchangeable digital certificates of authenticity. Anything digital can potentially be sold as an NFT – videos, illustrations, music and even a tweet. NFTs are not new, but they are experiencing unprecedented popularity (and critique) since gaining mainstream attention in 2021.
And while NFT artworks are being sold and auctioned for millions, you might still be wondering: how does it work exactly? What is its value for artists and art institutions? Is it changing the art world for good? How sustainable are NFTs and blockchain technology? Which power structures and dynamics are involved here? And who profits from this new technology?
Over the last year we organised several events around NFTs, inviting artists and experts to share their experiences. Below we collected these critical and creative views on NFTs. We also added a reading list with articles that inspired us.
With a.o. artists Rafael Rozendaal, Jonas Lund, Harm van den Dorpel, and Simon Denny, artist and curator Alex Czetwertynski, blockchain researcher Inte Gloerich and many others.
IMPAKT is not done with NFTs!
If you have any thoughts or reactions we should keep in mind, please let us know at: pr@impakt.nl
IMPAKT TV: Non-Fungible Tokens
With: Simon Denny, Harm van den Dorpel and Inte Gloerich
What is this new NFT blockchain craze everyone is talking about? What are the risks and opportunities for the art world? In April 2021, we organised our first IMPAKT TV episode around non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
We invited special guests and experts. Artist Simon Denny has been closely following developments in blockchain technology for years. In his work NFT Mine Offsets at the Petzel Gallery he creates NFT artworks as a response to and reflection on the environmental effects of these technologies. Harm van den Dorpel was the first artist to sell NFTs to a museum in 2015. Later, he founded left.gallery, a marketplace for blockchain artworks. Inte Gloerich studies the social, cultural and political aspects of blockchain technology at the Institute of Network Cultures (INC), where she is part of the MoneyLab project, a network of researchers, artists and activists who are experimenting with the digital economy and forms of financial democratisation.
IMPAKT TV with Rafaël Rozendaal
NFTs and the Internet as canvas
There has been a lot of discussion about the economic and technological implications of NFTs, but what makes them unique as an art medium? How do they change the role of the artist?
Earlier this year we invited artist Rafaël Rozendaal to reflect us on the latest news and trends in NFT art. Dutch-Brazilian artist Rafaël Rozendaal has been making digital art since 2000 and is now successful within the NFT-scene. In this episode, we talk with Rozendaal about his work, what he loves (and hates) about the current NFT boom and his approach of the Internet as a medium and canvas.
EMAP Round Table at Art Brussels
With: Inte Gloerich and Alex Czetwertynski
How to make sure NFTs become (more) valuable for the arts?
In the framework of ArtBrussels.NFT Speaker Series, presented by PARALLEL in collaboration with iMAL, we organised a round table discussion on 30 April 2022. We tackled questions such as the livelihood of artists ; cryptoart aesthetics, between digital art, amateur practices, memes, and wealth signifiers ; public good and increased commercialisation ; the essential mediation role of art institutions and new structures.
This round table is co-organised by iMAL (BE), IMPAKT (NL), Antre Peaux (FR), m-cult (FIN) and gnration (PT), as part of the European Media Art Platform, co-funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe Programme.
Rewatch of the event will be available soon.
Tegenlicht Meetup Utrecht on NFT’s
With: Jan Robert Leegte, Rafaël Rozendaal, Arjon Dunnewind, Lotte Schuengel and Inte Gloerich
What are NFTs (worth)? Should this be considered as just a new mania or is it contributing to the recognition of digital art?
In February 2022, Arjon Dunnewind and our IMPAKT TV guest Rafaël Rozendaal were part of the panel at the Tegenlicht Meet Up Utrecht to talk about NFTs with Jan Robert Leegte, Lotte Schuengel and Inte Gloerich. The event also included a screening of the VPRO Tegenlicht episode on NFTs (in Dutch).
Arte.tv interview with Jonas Lund
During the IMPAKT Festival 2021 Modern Love
Jonas Lund’s performative artworks often involve tasks that are executed according to algorithms or a set of rules. He investigates issues generated by the increasing digitalisation of contemporary society like authorship, participation and distribution of agency.
During the IMPAKT Festival 2021 Modern Love, Arte TV programme Tracks interviewed artist Jonas Lund about his work with blockchain technology, his own Jonas Lund tokens and NFTs. The interview will be on TV tonight at 00.30 during the Arte programme #Tracks: Culture From the Other Side of the Tracks!
For the IMPAKT Festival 2021 Modern Love Jonas Lund created One on One +1: a new performance-tracking and enhancing dating platform.
Reading list
- Alex Czetwertynski: “Not holding my nose anymore. Or how I learned to stop worrying and love NFTS.” https://medium.com/@alexczetwert/not-holding-my-nose-anymore-bb6e49c36af4
- Interview with Rafaël Rozendaal for Spike Magazine: https://spikeartmagazine.com/?q=articles/interview-rafael-rozendaal
- Geraldine Juárez on NFTs & Ghosts. In: The Crypto Syllabus: https://the-crypto-syllabus.com/geraldine-juarez-on-nfts-ghosts/
- Geraldine Juárez: “The Ghostchain. (Or taking things for what they are)” In: Peletten. https://paletten.net/artiklar/the-ghostchain
- Christiane Paul: “NFT art—a sales mechanism or a medium?” In: The Art Newspaper: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/02/18/nfts-are-a-sales-mechanism-not-a-medium