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A new museum in Seattle that opens this month has been announced as the first art museum and gallery to showcase blockchain-only art. “Digital art pushes the boundaries of physical space without the limitations of media and matter,” point out Jennifer Wong and Peter Hamilton, co-founders of the museum.
The NFT Museum in Seattle opens January 14 in the Belltown neighborhood of the city and bills itself as the first museum of its kind to embrace what could be a revolutionary new era in art history. Wong and Hamilton hope that the museum — a partial result of a partnership with Samsung, which has provided more than 30 custom-designed screens — will make Seattle known as “a hub of blockchain innovation and a space for the NFT community,” which the traditional art world has so far viewed with suspicion.
The proposed museum is a mixture of the real and the virtual. In many ways, it will reflect the established institutional format. The focus will be on how art is presented, with carefully crafted exhibitions, a defined program and distinct seasons.
The works also connect with and reflect the interests of the wider Seattle community, with a focus on local artists. Works can be viewed via QR codes, providing visitors with “multiple online portals while in the museum, allowing artists to add additional ways to interact.” Each install is associated with token metadata and content related to the artist’s story.
The founders of the museum have little experience in the world of traditional art, but they have a background in technology. Wong leads the sustainability department of Convoy, a digital delivery startup, and Hamilton is the angel investor who founded TUNE, a mobile marketing company. “We are not experts,” Wong says. “We are here to learn. That is why we count on the feedback and support of NFT enthusiasts to continue to develop our vision.”
Hamilton and Wong are partnering with NFT collector Aaron Bird, who will be one of the first to lend works from his collection to the museum. The exhibition will feature works from Larva Labs’ CryptoPunks series, some of which are worth over $10 million.
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