NFTs are gaining a lot of traction as popular digital art artists are making millions from their blockchain-backed collectibles, designs, and even music. As the NFT market transitions into mainstream media, a lot of talented artists and creators are looking for platforms where they can create and sell their NFTs. The Goguenheim comes in as a platform to build and curate a collection of contemporary artworks through an Artist-in-Residence program where they periodically onboard and incentivise prominent and promising artists (and their communities) currently from Ethereum to release and expand their work into the Cardano NFT ecosystem.
With the backing of Catalyst, the Goguenheim project will serve as the leading collection of artworks and related endeavors that best represent the vibrance of Cardano as a blockchain for high quality art-based NFTs. The project’s vision is to keep growing and serve as the premier incubator-like program and attraction to nurture the culture of contemporary art growth and adoption in the Cardano Community.
Goguenheim’s plan is attainable since they plan to incorporate the Cardano Community and collectors from divergent chains such as Ethereum into their plans and give them an opportunity to acquire pieces by various resident artists from the Goguenheim collection on a weekly basis. The team behind this idea mention that diversity and equality will be key tenets in artist curation as the Goguenheim will strive to be an inclusive and equitable platform for all.
The NFT Ecosystem and Goguenheim’s Solution
Tracing Cardano’s steps from last year’s Mary hard fork to now, the chain has positioned itself as a bedrock with solid, simple and eco-friendly foundations to host and secure the future of digital assets via NFTs, in the blockchain space. This opens new doors for creators that want to connect their artworks and art-based projects to the Cardano Blockchain. However, digging deeper into the digital asset ecosystem reveals that Cardano’s advancement has only been leveraged by a segment of participants such as the quick-trade and arguably speculative market of NFT-based digital collectibles.
It goes to show that the developments witnessed are both beneficial and detrimental since Cardano’s NFT ecosystem ranks third in terms of NFT trade volumes yet little to none of said statistics can be attributed to independent artists or creators who are geared towards contemporary art projects. The developments also fail to bring in the market and mindshare from networks like Ethereum and they only push away many promising prominent artists and collectors that might consider Cardano as their NFT home.
Cardano boasts of the most secure/eco-friendly blockchain for art-based NFTs and yet has been unable to attract a culture of high-quality artworks and artists to its ecosystem, from Ethereum. Therefore, the problem that needs resolving is the lack of popularity for Cardano as a blockchain for good and quality art-based NFTs, creators, and collectors in the global scene. It is a major issue since networks like Ethereum that have archaic and inefficient structures for NFTs keep benefiting from these contemporary NFT based artists.
To solve this, the Goguenheim will establish art residencies on Cardano for up to 5 artists from Ethereum per month, over a three month period. Each month will have a different set of curated artists and they will have weekly releases of their artworks via NFTs on Cardano.
The Cardano Community and collectors from Ethereum can acquire these artworks either through auctions or direct sales. In case of low or no patronage, the Goguenheim will effectively collect said artworks using funds made available by Catalyst and thereby compensate these artists anyway. All artworks collected by the Goguenheim will serve as a showcase of the caliber of art-based NFTs in the Cardano ecosystem at various events.
The Goguenheim Team
Lead by an NFT veteran, Emmanue Batse, famed for the 2021 virtual event ‘Creating True Utility for Your Community with NFTs,’ the team is still growing as they are in talks with key players in the space such as Misan Harriman, IMCMPLX, Cath Simard, and Ishita Banerjee.
Having such experts in the NFT field improves the Goguenheim’s efficiency since they are specialists in specific disciplines and this knowledge enables them to execute tasks quicker in this fast-paced field. Experience, knowledge, and qualifications drive the Goguenheim team forward towards digital art excellence on Cardano.
The Goguenheim’s Funding Request
Requested Funds (in USD): 100,000
Funding breakdown
Goguenheim, Artist-in-Residence program: $60,000.00 / 3 MONTHS
- 1 Headliner/Curating Artist per month: $10,000.00 ($2500.00 weekly)
- 4 Supporting/Curated Artist per month: $8,000.00 ($500.00 each, weekly)
- Goguenheim Coordinating team coverage per month: $2000.00
Media Publication / Content Coverage: $15,000.00 / 3 MONTHS
- Blog and editorial content from crypto and art media/news platforms.
- Video content such as interviews with artists.
Operations Team Coverage: $25,000.00 / 3 MONTHS
- Provisions for web development/maintenance of official websites/resources.
- Artist relations and business development.
- Operational tooling and support components such as SEO tooling, social media management, etc.
Breathing New Air into Digital Art
The Cardano blockchain has always availed a myriad of new opportunities for growth to creatives and blockchain communities. These opportunities have had a tremendous impact on the financial world and society alike. However, the Cardano NFT ecosystem, despite ranking third on a global scale, still has room for improvement.
The establishment of the Goguenheim will serve as the center of progress and attention for the Cardano ecosystem as contemporary artists and creatives bring over their art-based NFTs, communities, and collectors from Ethereum. Aspiring and up-and-coming creators on Cardano will be able to find confidence and understanding in releasing their works on Cardano as the Goguenheim will serve as a beacon of representation, breathing new air to the NFT space.
Image courtesy of pixabay
