Is the decentralised nature of Web3 a new hope for artistic freedoms?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a gap between artistic freedom in theory and practice in the information technology age we live in. This gap is defined by a grand dilemma: Technology is an opportunity to empower, but at the same time also a tool to constrain, harass or even oppress the artist. We have seen how grand online platforms for music, film, contemporary art, and litterature have propelled many otherwise little known artists to find an audience – but at the same time this has made them dependent on new regimes; the very platforms themselves. These platforms now own the data-driven insights, the relationship to the audience, the censorship power and, in essence, full control over the artist. In addition, historically, technology has never been evenly accessible: Politically oppressed and poverty-stricken artists have been marginalised from participating in the internet revolution. A fact that has moulded the fabric and dominant culture of the internet into an anglo-centric, often non-inclusive space defined and exploited largely by the desires of large shareholder-owned corporations, often based in the USA and China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The decentralised nature of Web3 (the protocol on which blockchain is based) holds the potential to generate a fair, transparent and inclusive ecosystem of exchange that can benefit the entire artistic community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Web2, the internet we know today, is run from servers owned by big tech companies, Web3 is a decentralised web, where nonentity can control, shut down or censor the <\/p>\n\n\n\n

content. Cases are emerging that show the potential of the decentralised web. Signals from the Global South display how artists finally gain access and fair remuneration for their work. The collaborative platform AfghaNFT empowers grassroots artists from around the world to help each other both financially and emotionally in places that lack technical, legal or cultural frameworks for sustaining an artistic practice (like Afghanistan). They can display and monetize their work in an environment owned and governed jointly by themselves. In essence, a self-owned, decentralised social media platform centred around the purpose of empowering and funding marginalised artists to sustain themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this new-found potential for artistic freedom can not be taken for granted. In practice, we are already seeing the idea of access for anyone starting to derail; mainly because Web3 still suffers from a high technical learning curve. As a result, new users naturally flock around easy-to-use platforms created by first-moving Web3 companies, who have managed to monetize their early success in trading Web3 assets; so-called tokens. They have been successful in creating large publicity campaigns to attract newcomers, including the artistic space. These platforms now sit in hegemonic positions of control, similarly to what we\u2019ve seen in Web2. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through decentralisation many of the legal, technical and cultural types of censorship we see today are removed. But we need cultural institutions and policy makers to invest proper time and willingness in engaging with Web3. Intermediaries who can conciliate between the two fields are needed to legitimise and implement the use of Web3 services. Otherwise the decentralised infrastructure will maintain its position as obscure and irrelevant for the artistic community.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":1181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_themes":[139],"class_list":["post-1178","insights","type-insights","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","_themes-artistic-freedoms"],"acf":{"signals":[{"ID":1140,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-01-06 12:12:16","post_date_gmt":"2022-01-06 12:12:16","post_content":"As the Executive Director of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), Magdalena stresses that most of their work is still analogue and that UNESCO and IFACCA in general \"have very little experience and expertise with \"tech and the digital.\"\r\n\r\nHowever, Magdalena sees a future for international organisations like UNESCO and IFACCA to \"act as a digital watchdog to secure fair rights and payments from digital platforms\" as \"the policy area has to play to secure rights and royalties.\"","post_title":"Policy's role as a digital watchdog to secure rights & payment from digital platforms","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"policys-role-as-a-digital-watchdog-to-secure-rights-payment-from-digital-platforms","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-01-06 12:12:16","post_modified_gmt":"2022-01-06 12:12:16","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/policys-role-as-a-digital-watchdog-to-secure-rights-payment-from-digital-platforms\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1129,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_content":"Distributing power more widely between the people currently involved is not enough; the art ecosystem needs to be fundamentally more inclusive \u2014 only then does the re-architecture of power and influence begin to benefit the full suite of contributors whose current work is mostly unrecognized.\r\n\r\n\"I don't think democratization helps because it becomes very one-sided. I think technology is only interesting if you think about the wider cultural workforce. And with the wider cultural workforce, I refer to administrative staff, art handlers, curators and artists \u2014 not only the artists.\" Commonly what is seen as the creative workforce is solely the public-facing roles, and any work done behind the scene is not counted. ","post_title":"Technology is not enough \u2014 the right culture\/usage is still key","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"technology-is-not-enough-the-right-culture-usage-is-still-key","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/technology-is-not-enough-the-right-culture-usage-is-still-key\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1124,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_content":"\"There is no dialogue between the blockchain community and the art world\" \r\n\r\n\"The narrative around the art world centres around the 'artist genius' individual artist. It's a much more complex ecosystem. My drive is to create a new narrative around everyone who is in this ecosystem. [...] I help them by creating awareness and dialogue between these (art\/blockchain) communities. ","post_title":"There is no dialogue between the blockchain community and the art world","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"there-is-no-dialogue-between-the-blockchain-community-and-the-art-world","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/there-is-no-dialogue-between-the-blockchain-community-and-the-art-world\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1122,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_content":"Feminist Internet is a group of artists and designers working to advance internet equality for women and other marginalised groups through critical practice.\r\n\r\nA perfect place to start is the issues surrounding access, the most recent data (June 2018) shows that 44.9% of the world still doesn\u2019t have access to the internet, leaving almost half of our global society out of the conversation. Even in countries which do have access, there is often a societal bias, which suggests that technology and the internet are not a feminine thing, this bias leads to a larger proportion of men online than women.","post_title":"The feminist internet","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-feminist-internet","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-08 13:40:08","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/the-feminist-internet\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1121,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content":"\"The underlying premise of open source is to create a 'commons of the digital', that is a space of accessible data that can be used and reused freely rather than exchanged as a commodity.\"\r\n\r\n\"Back when I was a global community manager at the Open Knowledge Foundation (edit. NGO) my job was to teach and onboard as many local groups into the community as possible, including outside the Western sphere, to let them see the open-source opportunity and then create local association structures. And with that experience, I quickly learned how the same thing, e.g. blockchain, can be seen very differently depending on who you are. For instance, it is considered liberating in one part of the world, and in another part of the world, it is perceived as colonizing and dominating. Therefore, we can't just offer technical services. We also need to provide them with relevant use cases.\r\n","post_title":"The importance and impact of architecture","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-importance-and-impact-of-architecture","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/the-importance-and-impact-of-architecture\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1119,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content":"\"In the mainstream media, I'm told that blockchain, bitcoin and NFTs are unfortunate and should be dealt with consciously due to their 'Silicon Valley heritage'. However, it's the levels underneath the mainstream media that actually deal with, explain and elaborate on the potential of these technologies. And to properly help the creative industry, those lower-level conversations need to be pulled up to the surface and enter the mainstream discussions of rights, remuneration, equality and fairness. But as long as everyone perceives blockchain as a \"bad\" thing, the road to cultivating these technologies will be continuously far away\".","post_title":"When and how is something being presented as a favorable service?","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"when-and-how-is-something-being-presented-as-a-favorable-service","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/when-and-how-is-something-being-presented-as-a-favorable-service\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1118,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content":"\"Web3 services enable financial infrastructures and provide monetary ecosystems to creatives normally cut off the value chain.\" \r\n\r\n\"No matter what one thinks about NFTs and where the NFT-field is moving, decentralised finance on Web3 will encapsulate the world much more frictionless than our established banking systems. And that base layer provides not only art and culture but all industries \u2014 a huge window of opportunity, especially in the Global South.\"","post_title":"Building financial infrastructures in countries without one","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"building-financial-infrastructures-in-countries-without-one","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/building-financial-infrastructures-in-countries-without-one\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1117,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content":"\"If you look at it historically, Web1 was decentralised, and people had their own servers; to monetise it, you had to, e.g. make some 'Geocities' where internet users could come and make their homepage using your server. But with Web2, the social media era, big Californian and Chinese companies distribute their servers and create these enormous prosumer platforms.\" \r\n\r\n\"And then, we move to Web3, where we again splinter and become decentralised. And this has solely something to do with the architecture. That means you can not make one centralised unit in the blockchain. What you can do is to build a site that becomes so popular, e.g. OpenSea or Foundation, that they become de facto monopolies. And they're capitalising enormously on that now. However, it is only because it is so much in its infancy. So we cling to where there is something to look at. And it quickly turns into a negative discourse.\"","post_title":"De facto monopolys in the decentralised era","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"de-facto-monopolys-in-the-decentralised-era","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/de-facto-monopolys-in-the-decentralised-era\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1114,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content":"One interesting example is ConstitutionDAO. A web3-based crowdfunding organisation that raised $40 million (in cryptocurrency Ether) through a campaign carried out over social media, 17,437 people was part of the DAO. Unfortunately, the group lost the bid to a private collector seconds before the auction closed.\r\n \r\nFrom article: ConstitutionDAO \"became the most prominent example of a so-called decentralised autonomous organisation, which is essentially a co-op that governs itself using votes tallied through blockchain technology. Someone wishing to join a DAO pays for a token; the more tokens you own, the more votes you get. In the case of Constitution DAO, $4,000 in Ether purchased 1 million tokens.\" Quote from ConstitutionDAO organiser: \"What we tried to do was make the Constitution more accessible to the public,\" [...] Although we might have not completely accomplished doing just that, I think we've raised enough awareness to illustrate that a DAO is another option.\"\r\n","post_title":"Power: DAOs and blockchain communities has the potential to compete against billionaire auction bidders","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"power-daos-and-blockchain-communities-has-the-potential-to-compete-against-billionaire-auction-bidders","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-18 13:33:15","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/power-daos-and-blockchain-communities-has-the-potential-to-compete-against-billionaire-auction-bidders\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1101,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-22 15:09:08","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-22 15:09:08","post_content":"I et nytt teknologisk samfunn kan stadig flere ytre seg. En selvsagthet som i virkeligheten ogs\u00e5 m\u00e5 fremstettes med mange forbehold. Den norske professoren, Anne Mangen, er et eksempel p\u00e5 en forsker som problematiserer hva ny teknologi gj\u00f8r med oss, b\u00e5de i et biologisk og et samfunnsmessig perspektiv. Det er ogs\u00e5 mulig \u00e5 legge stor vekt p\u00e5 at samfunnets forskjellige klasser ikke har lik tilgang til teknologi, selv i dag.\r\n \r\nSamtidig som stadig flere ytrer seg, fremst\u00e5r det klarere og klarere at det p\u00e5 ingen m\u00e5te er enighet om hva ytringsfrihet er og skal v\u00e6re. Professor Janne Haaland Matlary kan omtales som en politisk konservativ tenker. Hun har nettopp utgitt Demokratiets langsomme d\u00f8d, der hun mener \u00e5 kunne vise at en liten Vestens elite ikke handler p\u00e5 vegne av folkeviljen, noe som truer demokratiet. \r\n \r\nMan kunne si at unge Ida Emilie Eseme Jensen blant annet befinner seg i den andre ytringsenden. Eseme Jensen kritiserer at hvite mennesker fletter h\u00e5ret sitt p\u00e5 et vis som hun mener b\u00f8r forbeholdes ikke-hvite (Nrk p3, 02.05.22). Som eksempel p\u00e5 fletter som ikke b\u00f8r brukes av alle, nevnes box braids og cornrows. Slike fletter kan knyttes til svarte slavers erfaringer, som svarte slaver. Andre utseenderelaterte debatter omhandler selvsagt bruk av religi\u00f8st forankrede kl\u00e6r. \r\n \r\nEseme Jensens ytring er kanskje et brukbart eksempel p\u00e5 et synspunkt som Haaland Matlary mener tillegges for stor vekt i dagens debattklima. Eseme Jensen tar i stor grad utgangspunkt i personlige opplevelser n\u00e5r hun argumenterer. Hun knytter disse opplevelsene til (de afrikanske) slavenes historie. Den sv\u00e6rt erfarne tenkeren og samfunnsdebattanten Haaland Matlary kan forankre sine konklusjoner i teori og analyse. \r\n","post_title":"Den frav\u00e6rende samtalen?","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"den-fravaerende-samtalen","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-22 15:09:08","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-22 15:09:08","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/den-fravaerende-samtalen\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1089,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-20 14:13:49","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-20 14:13:49","post_content":"Video never killed the radio star and likewise, the blockchain hasn\u2019t yet fulfilled its promise to decentralize the power dynamics in the music industry. And yet, that promise is there and there are plenty of artists who are benefitting from using various Web3 rails to generate revenues and build their communities. If we look at recently published research by Water & Music we see that independent artists are generating the majority of revenue from NFT sales in 2021, especially looking at the second half of that year. \r\n\r\n(Total 2021 NFT sales: Artists on major music label 36%, independent artists either unsigned or on indie label 64%)\r\n\r\n ","post_title":"On flattening hierarchies and other power dynamics","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"on-flattening-hierarchies-and-other-power-dynamics","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-20 14:13:49","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-20 14:13:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/on-flattening-hierarchies-and-other-power-dynamics\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1086,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-19 17:05:55","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-19 17:05:55","post_content":"There is a lot of talk about crypto, blockchain technology, digital wallets, decentralization, and the metaverse, but very little about the diverse voices needed to ensure that Web3 doesn\u2019t end up as just another version of the same old web, complete with unconscious biases, prejudices, and inaccessible websites.\r\n\r\nWeb2, the internet we know today, is characterized by user-generated content that is consumed by other users, along with participatory social content. It has given room to many dark sides including hate speech, bullying, fake news, and marginalization of minorities.\r\n\r\nWhile Web2 is about reliance on big tech brands, Web3 is a decentralized web, meaning no one entity can control, shut down or censor it. It\u2019s designed around blockchain technology. Web3 is all about giving power back to content creators (artists), consumers, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). It does not rely upon authorities, or large corporations, and is (or should be) accessible to anyone.","post_title":"Will Web3 Repeat the Same Mistakes as Web2?","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"will-web3-repeat-the-same-mistakes-as-web2","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-19 17:05:55","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-19 17:05:55","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/will-web3-repeat-the-same-mistakes-as-web2\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1083,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-19 16:14:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-19 16:14:06","post_content":"Ensemble Mix, which features 14 tracks across one hour, is available now on sound.xyz, a platform that allows users to \"buy timestamps on a track, something like a SoundCloud comment, in order to support the artists and show how they were here first,\" explains P\u00e9neau. To pay the artists, P\u00e9neau created a contract stipulating that once the NFTs are sold all the contributors will each receive 5.7 percent of the auction price straight into their ETH wallets. P\u00e9neau will receive 15 percent as the curator and \"Friends With Benefits,\" the platform which non-exclusively sells the mix, will receive another 5 percent.\r\n\r\nNFTs are unique tokens that exist on a blockchain like Ethereum, a public cryptographic ledger that records transactions. NFTs prove one\u2019s ownership over a digital asset such as an image, a sound bite, or a video. The market for NFTs exploded in 2021 with nearly $25 billion of NFTs being traded. Thus it represents a substantial opportunity for artists to generate self-sustaining revenue which is not dependent on the music arts industry's conventional bottlenecks.","post_title":"Blockchain brings brand new renumeration model to music artists","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"blockchain-brings-brand-new-renumeration-model-to-music-artists","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-19 16:14:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-19 16:14:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/blockchain-brings-brand-new-renumeration-model-to-music-artists\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1079,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-19 15:12:27","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-19 15:12:27","post_content":"New inc is part of the New Museum. NEW INC\u2019s program is dedicated to growing creative practitioners into creative entrepreneurs. It supports a diverse range of creative practitioners with a values-driven program and a safe space for gathering and developing new creative projects and businesses.\r\nThe program incubates people by supporting projects at a point of growth or change, and by imparting practical knowledge and innovative thinking that critiques the extremes of traditional art institutions and start-up culture.\r\nIt is a value-centric approach to creative thinking and entrepreneurship. They take a holistic attitude toward personal and professional development that empowers our community to be agents of social change in their practice and in the world. They see envisioning, growing, community and alternative economies as technologies.","post_title":"NEW INC is an incubator for people working at the intersection of art, design, and technology.","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"new-inc-is-an-incubator-for-people-working-at-the-intersection-of-art-design-and-technology","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-19 15:12:27","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-19 15:12:27","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/new-inc-is-an-incubator-for-people-working-at-the-intersection-of-art-design-and-technology\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1075,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-19 14:51:46","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-19 14:51:46","post_content":"The metaverse is a hypothetical, near-future vision of the Internet as a single, universal and immersive virtual world focused on social connection. It supplements and even mixes with the physical world we live in through computer technology, and is seen as a new utopian arena for artistic practice.\r\n\r\nHowever, the generally wide-eyed fascination with the concept blocks much-needed realism. According to experts, the vision has been overtaken by the seductive idea of a virtual utopia, but what\u2019s on offer looks more like a late-capitalist technocratic nightmare. In essence, it is argued that all the downsides of present-day society, like bias, misogyny, homophobia, and racism will not only be transferred from the physical world to the metaverse but actually amplified. Current MMOs (massively multiplayer online games), as a precursor for the metaverse, shows this all too well. This is owed mainly to the fact that the wealthy companies building the metaverse are predominantly run by the largely privileged, who oftentimes have little or no insight into the perspective of the marginalized and oppressed. ","post_title":"The metaverse: A late-capitalist technocratic nightmare marginalising minorities?","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-metaverse-a-late-capitalist-technocratic-nightmare-marginalising-minorities","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-19 14:51:46","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-19 14:51:46","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/the-metaverse-a-late-capitalist-technocratic-nightmare-marginalising-minorities\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1072,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-19 12:59:06","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-19 12:59:06","post_content":"The metaverse is a hypothetical, near-future vision of the Internet as a single, universal and immersive virtual world focused on social connection. It supplements and even mixes with the physical world we live in through computer technology. The term doesn't really refer to any one specific type of technology, but rather a broad (and often speculative) shift in how we interact with technologies in general, including virtual reality (VR) \u2014characterized by persistent virtual worlds that continue to exist even when you're not present\u2014as well as augmented reality (AR) that combines aspects of the digital and physical worlds. \r\n\r\nMany metaverse developers, which include companies in the thousands, including the world\u2019s biggest IT companies such as Meta (formerly Facebook), envision some sort of new digital economy, where users - including, of course, artists - can create, buy, and sell goods, potentially to a global audience. In the more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it's interoperable, allowing you not to be dependable on any one service provider, and allowing you to take virtual items, including artworks, from one platform to another.","post_title":"The \u201cmetaverse\u201d to potentially connect and expand the (art) world","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-metaverse-to-potentially-connect-and-expand-the-art-world","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-19 12:59:06","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-19 12:59:06","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/the-metaverse-to-potentially-connect-and-expand-the-art-world\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1070,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-17 20:30:12","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-17 20:30:12","post_content":"NFTs are unique tokens that exist on a blockchain like Ethereum. NFTs prove one\u2019s ownership over a digital asset such as an image or a video. The market for NFTs exploded in 2021 with nearly $25 billion of NFTs trade across 10 different blockchains. \r\n\r\nThe critique of NFTs and crypto, in general, is mounting, though. In this 2-hour video that has gone viral (4+ million views as of writing), blockchain critic Dan Olson delivers a well-argued, scathing critique of cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Olson argues that blockchain technologies are \u201cpoorly designed or deliberately obtuse in order to make them difficult to understand and thus appear more legitimate.\u201d He argues that NFTs have no real value, despite many of them selling for millions of dollars. The problem is that the NFT economy is essentially a bunch of people convincing others that something that doesn\u2019t have value actually does, resulting in artificial price inflation - in effect a Ponzi scheme. ","post_title":"The NFT format is a ponzi scheme to trick artists and the public to buy cryptocurrencies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-nft-format-is-a-ponzi-scheme-to-trick-artists-and-the-public-to-buy-cryptocurrencies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-17 20:30:12","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-17 20:30:12","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/the-nft-format-is-a-ponzi-scheme-to-trick-artists-and-the-public-to-buy-cryptocurrencies\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1068,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-16 16:04:40","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-16 16:04:40","post_content":"Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets recorded on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata that distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency. This emerging format has proved popular as a container for art throughout the last couple of years. NFT art is the meeting of cryptocurrency and the art world, made possible by blockchain technology. In what is now becoming a more accepted medium of commerce, the blockchain acts as a distributed digital ledger that indelibly records all transactions in a publicly accessible space. Methods to prove provenance and authenticity have historically characterized the art industry, often in ways that don\u2019t benefit the artist. Consequently, NFTs have become appealing to digital artists who often find it difficult to monetize their work. And not only that, NFT structures allow them to claim equity in their work, share risk across artists, and redistribute proceeds to charity or other art workers.\r\n\r\n[Note: The viewpoint presented here is somewhat biased or even naive, many would argue. See counter-argument as a separate signal.]","post_title":"NFTs could empower artists and democratize the art industry","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"nfts-could-empower-artists-and-democratize-the-art-industry","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-16 16:04:40","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-16 16:04:40","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/nfts-could-empower-artists-and-democratize-the-art-industry\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1060,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-05-08 16:28:36","post_date_gmt":"2022-05-08 16:28:36","post_content":"Irene Agrivina, one of the founding members and current directors of HONF, the Yogyakarta-based arts, science and technology laboratory writes in a contribution to IFACCA's Discussion Paper on Artistic Freedom, how in Indonesia, \"art collectives and cultural initiatives have become vital spaces of learning, connecting spaces, collaborative platforms, and drivers of innovative practice within the arts, cultural and creative sectors.\" \r\n\r\nAccording to Agrivina collectives play their role to create an open society where a spirit of tolerance and acceptance of differences are always underlined. Many of the movements have been born out of the social and political turmoil against nepotism and corruption.","post_title":"Collective as the catalyst for freedom of expression","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"collective-as-the-catalyst-for-freedom-of-expression","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-05-08 16:28:36","post_modified_gmt":"2022-05-08 16:28:36","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/collective-as-the-catalyst-for-freedom-of-expression\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1036,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-04-19 11:09:13","post_date_gmt":"2022-04-19 11:09:13","post_content":"Society values traditional companies based on assets and cash flows. Those with more capital are typically valued more highly than others. That isn\u2019t the case for organizations on web3. Here, new digital protocols (ie. blockchains) allow for communities to build organizations that mimick the structures of companies and create opportunities previously only available through conventional company structures. These protocols are valuable not because of cash flows (e.g. through extractive fees) or asset valuation. Instead, they are valuable due to the shared ownership of the protocol by those building on and using it.\r\n\r\nIn other words, companies are valuable when they continuously extract value for shareholders. Protocols are valuable when they continuously create value for the public.\r\n\r\nSuch an organization is called a DAO (Distributed Autonomous Organization). It is made up of a tokenized community that governs itself through blockchain-based tokens.","post_title":"How tokenized communities - called DAOs - can elevate artists and artworks","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"how-tokenized-communities-called-daos-can-elevate-artists-and-artworks","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-04-19 11:09:13","post_modified_gmt":"2022-04-19 11:09:13","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/how-tokenized-communities-called-daos-can-elevate-artists-and-artworks\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1007,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-24 19:36:55","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-24 19:36:55","post_content":"This is a collection of networks and tech aiming at decentralisation from global cryptocurrencies such as BitCoin that seeks to develop financial tools outside of nation-state oversight and regulation to the People's Open Network a community mesh network in Oakland, California. That seeks to provide internet to marginal areas that are under severed by the commercial infrastructure. ","post_title":"Decentralised dreams - The alternative internet","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"decentralised-dreams-the-alternative-internet","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-24 19:36:55","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-24 19:36:55","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/decentralised-dreams-the-alternative-internet\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":1001,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-22 08:29:10","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-22 08:29:10","post_content":"The editorial board of Tohu is based on the Palestinian-Israeli curator, art historian and art critic Rula Khoury, Palestinian poet, translator and researcher in the fields of Arabic and English Literature Reem Ghanayem, Israeli Orit Bulgaru, curator, lecturer and researcher, Dr Alma Mikulinsky art historian and curator and artist Nir Harel. \r\nMore than 80 local and international contributors contribute to a wide range of interviews, exhibition reviews and critique, monographies and columns, and commissioned translated essays on topics related to contemporary art and culture.","post_title":"Independent online art magazine committed to values of equality and freedom of expression","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"independent-online-art-magazine-committed-to-values-of-equality-and-freedom-of-expression","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-22 08:29:10","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-22 08:29:10","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/independent-online-art-magazine-committed-to-values-of-equality-and-freedom-of-expression\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":984,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-10 13:15:10","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-10 13:15:10","post_content":"\"A virtual world on the Ethereum blockchain. Build, develop, and sell property on the blocks and streets of Cryptovoxels. Users own the land and assets, with ownership and trading history recorded permanently on the blockchain. Trade land NFTs right here on OpenSea, and keep track of the Cryptovoxels team on Twitter for news on the latest drops and developments.\"\r\n\r\nCryptovoxels looks very similar to Minecraft and is also said to be the main inspiration for Cryptovoxels developers Ben Nolan. \"When a user has their parcel, they can get a building on their plot of land, anything they build is owned by them. Parcels are listed on crypto-collectibles marketplace OpenSea and are priced from 0.248 Ethereum. \r\n","post_title":"Metaverse open world art market place","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"metaverse-open-world-art-market-place","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-10 13:15:10","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-10 13:15:10","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/metaverse-open-world-art-market-place\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":979,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-10 11:41:53","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-10 11:41:53","post_content":"The novelty in Foundation is that it encourages artists to become their own markets atop Ethereum. Using the Uniswap model of Automated Market Makers (AMM), Foundation takes this approach, well-praised by the blockchain community, and pours it into constructing their own market. Since then, it has integrated NFTs, allowing creators to spin up markets for redeemable goods and sell digital art. \u201cWhen we set out to build the markets' powering Foundation, we analyzed what\u2019s been done to date on AMMs and took that as inspiration. We then made some key modifications that would allow us to serve the needs of creators first and foremost.\"\r\n\r\nIn contrast to Uniswap or any other protocol where the users provide liquidity, Foundation\u2019s markets allow creators to tokenize their work and set up the price parameters and the depth of their market. Providing the creator the ability to determine the price discovery process based on their supply and demand parameters.","post_title":"Empowering creators to build their own market parameters","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"empowering-creators-to-build-their-own-market-parameters","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-10 11:41:53","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-10 11:41:53","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/empowering-creators-to-build-their-own-market-parameters\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":978,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-10 10:57:03","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-10 10:57:03","post_content":"October '21, Osinachi became the first crypto-artist from Africa to have his work sold by Christie's auction house in Europe. \"NFTs may be a money waster for some in the West, but they're a legitimate moneymaker for others everywhere else. They are opening up whole new revenue streams for anyone with an internet connection. [...] In the emerging markets of the global south, NFTs are giving millions a chance to compete fairly in an ever-evolving global economy. \r\n\r\n\"Nigeria-born Osinachi's father brought home a computer when he was 15. Osinachi began to experiment with creating digital images using Microsoft Word. As he developed his work and tried to sell it through a traditional gallery, he was met by rejection. However, in 2017 he found out he could sell NFTs using blockchain.\"","post_title":"The usage and the potential of NFTs are very different things","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"the-usage-and-the-potential-of-nfts-are-very-different-things","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-10 10:57:03","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-10 10:57:03","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/the-usage-and-the-potential-of-nfts-are-very-different-things\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":977,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-10 09:40:46","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-10 09:40:46","post_content":"\"In the small town of Lusanga, members of the Congolese Plantation Workers Art League coined their first NFT. For the group of artists, known by the acronym CATPC, it was a ceremonial event; the NFT of this particular sculpture is a turning point in the history of their village. The statue is currently at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and depicts a Belgian colonialist who was assassinated during a revolt in the 1930s. Despite several requests made to the Virginia Museum to borrow the work, it never made it to its hometown. CATPC decided to remedy this non-agreement by creating its own NFT of the never-returned statue. CATPC decided to fix this non-agreement by creating its own NFT of the never-returned statue.\"\r\n\r\n\"Tamasala, one of the artists in the collective, said that their blockchain appropriation of the object allowed them to get around the problem and finally have the sculpture and create our own world. \"We have otherwise reappropriated what belongs to us intellectually, artistically, morally. We feel closer to the sculpture and proud to have what was already ours before. \"\"\r\n\r\n","post_title":"A collective of Congolese artists created an NFT to fight colonialism","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"a-collective-of-congolese-artists-created-an-nft-to-fight-colonialism","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-10 09:40:46","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-10 09:40:46","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/a-collective-of-congolese-artists-created-an-nft-to-fight-colonialism\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":975,"post_author":"2","post_date":"2022-03-10 09:39:19","post_date_gmt":"2022-03-10 09:39:19","post_content":"The Sphere is: \"aiming to create a way for everyone who is interested in a specific sort of performing art to invest and co-own the community or ecosystem they love and care for so much. This means that the audience will co-own the artworks with the artists, technicians, cultural professionals, and potential stakeholders.\"\r\n\r\n\"The Sphere leverages blockchain technology together with open-source tools and praxis through 4 interlocking dimensions of creative and economic incentive alignment: An archive for collaboration, 2) Smart contracts for rights management and Contributive Commons License, 3) Contributive accounting system based on the P2P foundation's research into equitable, effective methods of value identification, tracking, measurement and redemption, 4) Crypto Economic model - A blockchain-native economic infrastructure for liquid ownership and dynamic governance by stakeholders throughout The Sphere's ecosystem.\"","post_title":"Merging peer-to-peer technology with arts cooperatives","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"merging-peer-to-peer-technology-with-arts-cooperatives","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2022-03-10 09:39:19","post_modified_gmt":"2022-03-10 09:39:19","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/anordic.org\/livingcatalogue\/signals\/all\/merging-peer-to-peer-technology-with-arts-cooperatives\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"signals","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}]},"full_image":["https:\/\/livingcatalogue.anordic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/digital-infrastructure.png",1280,600,false],"thumb":["https:\/\/livingcatalogue.anordic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/digital-infrastructure-300x141.png",300,141,true],"thumb_large":["https:\/\/livingcatalogue.anordic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/digital-infrastructure-1024x480.png",640,300,true],"yoast_head":"\n