Art Basel Hong Kong’s ‘Collecting Digital’ forum showcases the intersection of Web3 and contemporary art
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Museum representatives also shared their experiences in the field, describing how they built NFT task forces to get to grips with collecting such a complex medium. Celia Yang, Head of Director’s Strategic Initiatives at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), spoke about the museum’s collaborations with celebrities such as Paris Hilton with whom they established a fund to collect female digital artists. ‘It was such an important thing to do because there were so many male figureheads in the space and we wanted to create a platform for female voices as well,’ says Yang. Last year, LACMA also received a major donation from famed NFT collector Cozomo de’ Medici, which was the largest collection of artworks minted on blockchain to be acquired by an American art museum. Aside from donations, Yang said they are actively collecting digital art and helping to educate the art world through informative blog posts.
In another panel, Hong Kong-based collector Alan Lau said the forum’s openness was refreshing. ‘A session like this would be unthinkable in the traditional art world, where few people share their collections. It’s the complete opposite with NFTs.’ Asked what advice he would give to newcomers to the field, he replied: ‘Get a sense of the community before you buy. It is easy, accessible, and democratic.’
The word community cropped up in every conversation at the forum. ‘You hear that word all the time when it comes to blockchain or digital art. But it’s not just a word, it’s attached to real experiences,’ says Anadol. ‘The traditional art world is still very slow and skeptical…I’m grateful that there is another world where we can create, think, and share more together.’
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