Hopefully, the title of this article is clickbait enough. You’re about to read something about my feelings, insights, and maybe even a few challenges I faced while organising a digital art exhibition in Lisbon during the Non Fungible Conference. Hopefully, it’ll be educational. And if not, at least a bit entertaining.
On Saturday, June 7th at 6 PM, I hosted this event at the incredible Web3 co-working space, The Block. Gustavo, who manages the venue, was nothing but patient with all my questions about projectors, TVs, USB drives, and HDMI adapters. The space is also cared for by two amazing women who love plants and treat them with such dedication that it adds real charm to the place.
I saw the first guests arriving around 5:40 PM while I was quickly eating my black rice bowl. By 6 PM, more people had joined us, and many mentioned how cozy the venue felt.
We had four digital frames provided by Muse Frame. Working with their team (Dyl Blaquiere, Vlad, and Andrea) is always a pleasure. This was my second time putting together an exhibition with Muse Frame, so the setup went smoothly, which was a big, big relief.
Two screens were dedicated to NFTs curated by Yara Agency, which I founded. Some of the exhibited artists were YuYu, Infinite Mantra, Ray Vagner, and Jaen.
Jean commented, "Our corner of the contemporary art world is deeply rooted in digital culture and shaped by social media. Showing work in real-life settings, whether in galleries, museums, or art-friendly social events, is a powerful way to spark meaningful conversations through art and reconnect with the human, in-person experience of engaging with it."
The other two showcased Bitcoin Ordinals, curated by Vivid Gallery, featuring artworks by Cybersea, Medusa, Shaderism, and many more. In my opinion, Vivid is leading the way in the Bitcoin art space with beautiful collections.
There’s always room for improvement. A friend of mine, an incredible artist, Zhannet Podobed, reminded me to credit each artwork. It was a thoughtful suggestion: we really should include the title and artist’s name at the bottom of each digital file.
I’ll do it better next time! And there will be many next times, because Paul Dowling, co-founder of the nomadic art gallery Factory 4, and I are here to stay!
As a proud Ukrainian, I was especially excited to present Digital Original, a software company founded and led by the Ukrainian-Spanish team, Anna Filippova and Yuliia Berdiyarova. Think of it as Shopify, but for digital art. Whether you’re an artist, curator, or gallery, you can customise your storefront and start selling your art now.
One of their early adopters is Lindsay Kokoska, aka infinite mantra, a Canadian artist whose works stole my heart (and I’m sure it’ll steal yours too!).
Even when stress or anxiety got the better of me while speaking I knew deep down I was surrounded by an incredible group of creatives who joined the event and supported me.
For my last shoutout, I want to thank John Karp and the whole NFC Team, Ashton Barger from Onchain Foundation, Rodni Baja from NFT Magazine (who published the article you’re reading right now), and everyone who got involved.
My confession: I hosted a digital art exhibition in Lisbon, and I loved it. I’ll definitely do it again!
