WAC Fellowship’s Second Cohort Pioneers Web3 Solutions For The Art World

Web3 for the Arts and Culture (WAC) Fellowship, supported by the Tezos Foundation and led by We Are Museums, in collaboration with LAL Art, has successfully completed their second 6-month innovation laboratory.

Twelve prestigious cultural institutions from around the globe have explored and prototyped blockchain-based projects, expanding their capabilities in culture preservation, social good, environmental justice, and financial stability.

The results will be presented by the cultural institutions during the Demo Day on May 25th (online).

Following the 3-month weekly discussions WAC WEEKLY, the 4-month online program has educated and onboarded these institutions onto Web3 with a comprehensive training and mentoring program.

It covered blockchain’s role in the culture sector, its impact on identity, security, legal and social implications, gaming, metaverse, Web3 communications, and community building.

In total, fellows had access to 25 trainers, 50 mentors, 35 lessons, 10 practical challenges, and 15 case studies.

After intensive training, each team collaborated with a tech integrator and -bolstered by blockchain and UI/UX experts- they dedicated the last month of the program to prototyping and developing blockchain applications for the art world.

“The WAC Fellowship stands at the forefront of a cultural metamorphosis, empowering institutions to harness the immense potential of blockchain technology”, said Diane Drubay, Founder of We Are Museums and WAC-Lab. 

Among the innovative projects developed by the fellows, HEK – House of Electronic Arts has developed the “HEK NFT Shop” with Smartchain‘s support Soon, HEK will be releasing their second NFT edition with Leander Herzog to celebrate the new “HEK NFT Shop”.

This is the first step of a new web3 journey for HEK including more collaborations with artists, a tokenized museum membership and a future DAO.

The Wooko Makandie Foundation uses Tezos-based fx(hash) to reimagine traditional pangi prints as generative art. This project offers a new way to experience traditional art via technology and promote engagement with a wider audience.

This Autumn, the Musée d’Orsay will experiment with a new type of merchandising where visitors will be able to collect a digital souvenir of their visit. This will be the museum’s first step towards web3 community building through on-chain visitor engagement and potentially new revenue streams. 

ArtAegis, with National Taras Shevchenko Museum and Kyiv’s Cultural Department, uses Lucify for augmented reality art exhibitions to exhibit Ukrainian art during the wartime with their “Anywhere Museum” at a time when museums are empty or closed, allowing people to use AR and blockchain to regain access to culture.

Two Royal College of Art fellows explore how to boost community engagement in impact-driven projects and performance art with web3 with Tezos-based platform fx(hash): 

Lena Dobrowolska‘s Future News NFT project focuses on the co-creation of climate-themed speculative newspaper covers through a live workshop. All profits from NFT sales will aid climate justice organizations and climate negotiators from the global South. In collaboration with Davide Ciacco, it culminates at FOTODOKS Festival Munich.

Anna Nazo explores web3 AI-Neurotech performance art with visitor participation in virtual environments, using 360-degree imaging that are turned into generative NFTs. The project is developed in collaboration with New Art City virtual gallery. 

Berlin’s Institute for Sound and Music is launching SUPERPOSITION, a blockchain service for arts and culture. This initiative aims to launch an annual donation campaign of digital art for urgent charitable causes. By leveraging royalties from future digital asset transactions, they demonstrate the impact of art and advanced technologies while supporting charitable endeavors.

The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka plans to reward learning about modern and contemporary art in Sri Lanka and best practices for museum facilitators, with Naan wallet’s “Proof-of-Learning” tokens. This will provide a unique way to incentivize and recognize learning.

The WAC fellows from the French Ministry of Culture, in collaboration with Smartchain, write an exploratory note on the (im)permanence of artist royalties and explore ways to use the potential of the blockchain technology to safeguard sources of income for artists in the dynamic art market.

This note will be accompanied by a day of roundtables at the Ministry of Culture with actors of the art and Web3 space to move forward.

During the fellowship, projects part of the WAC Factory were developed, while other fellows pursued longer-term initiatives. Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI) in Melbourne is conducting research for their future in-house web3 experience.

They will publish their findings and use the knowledge to upscale the organization, create internal advocacy, and prepare for their upcoming web3 exhibition.

Haus der Kunst in Munich is building community engagement in collaboration with a digital artist for an upcoming festival this Summer, and the Belvedere Museum in Vienna is exploring Web3 solutions and educating staff based on fellowship learnings.

“We are thrilled to see the impact that this program has had on the participating institutions and how the teams involved in the fellowship continue their journey, educate their own teams further, and collaborate on new projects..” adds Fanny Lakoubay, collaborator of WAC Lab and founder of LAL ART.

Utilizing Tezos blockchain’s security and transparency, tech integrators have developed innovative solutions like generative art mechanisms and DAO-powered voting tools that enrich visitor experiences, foster cross-museum collaborations, and diversify revenue streams, while also expanding the open-source toolset for Tezos-based innovation.

“The success of the WAC Fellowship program highlights the commitment of the museum world to being a positive force in web3 innovation”, states Valérie Whitacre, Head of Art, TriliTech / Tezos. 

As the art world continues to evolve, the WAC Fellowship program provides essential guidance to cultural institutions looking to navigate the Web3 space and use innovative tools to achieve their goals and build a sustainable future. Watch out for Season 3 of WAC Lab!

Register here to join the Demo Day on May 25th at 10am CEST https://tinyurl.com/wac-demo-day

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