blockchain24.pro
02 December 2021 08:24, UTC
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2021 has been a crazy year in the NFT ecosystem, especially in the art world. One of the main catalysts was Beeple’s “Everydays: the First 5000 Days” NFT auction, which Christie’s sold for $ 69 million last March.
On the other hand, in July, the Miami Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA Miami) acquired CryptoPunks NFT # 5293 from Eduardo Burillo. Until now, however, NFTs have been more embedded in auction houses such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s than in museums.
Why are museums lagging behind the NFT?
Apart from ICA Miami, which received an NFT, only a few other museums, such as the British Museum in London and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, have been drawn into this world, according to Apollo art magazine.
According to TNW, some of the obstacles that museums face in getting involved in the NFT world are: The fact that tokens are dependent on cryptocurrencies, which are associated with regulatory uncertainty and volatility; and the fact that NFTs can be a revenue-generating asset for a museum can give rise to various problems, such as limiting public access to the collection, appropriately reinvesting the proceeds generated, and the possibility that the virtual collection will be viewed as a financial asset rather than art for showing.
Sotheby’s and Christie’s are changing the art world
Currently, the way art is sold is changing, and Sotheby’s and Christie’s are taking on the role of intermediaries in the process.
November was a very important month for the NFT world. Last week, according to the Christie’s website, they partnered with OpenSea to host the first online auction called “Christie’s X OpenSea”, the exhibition will be available to site users from December 1 to December 3, and the auction will be open from 4 to 7 December.
“I hope this marks the beginning of a new era for NFT sales at Christie’s where amazing technology can be used to its fullest and help attract even more traditional collectors of contemporary art to Web3,” said Noah Christie’s, Head of Digital & Online -sales.
In addition, Sotheby’s accepted bids in Ethereum (ETH) during the auction of two Banksy paintings. But one of Sotheby’s most important implications for the NFT ecosystem has been to create a replica of their London auction house in the Decentraland metaverse, where you can enter their gallery from anywhere in the world.
The art industry is going digital. Until now, museums and auction houses have taken a different approach to the NFT ecosystem. With new trends in the metaverse, the art industry may continue to change.
Will a museum like the Louvre take a step forward and enter the metaverse, as Sotheby’s did? It’s hard to predict, but if you remember that art museums explain history through art, then NFTs will definitely become a part of our history.
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