Hi! Welcome to this week’s VCA Roundup: your go-to for all things NFTs, Crypto Art and Web3.

Wow – we’re having an incredible week, aren’t we?! The VerticalCrypto Art Residency Auction Event has been in full swing, with the kick-off of the Resident Artist Auction with a metaparty in Arium Spaces! The long wait is finally over, and the energy flowing in the VCA community is nothing short of electric. Cohort II is on top of the world right now!

We cannot wait to tell you more. So, let’s cut to the chase and dive right in!

The official launch of the VCA Residency Auction Event took place in Arium Spaces’ metaverse on Wednesday evening.

Micol presented the second edition of VerticalCrypto Art’s ‘Discussing Art NFTs’ series with co-hosts Anika Meier and Jesse Damiani on the topic: ‘PFPs & Art: What’s the Deal?’. Featuring notable figures from the NFT ecosystem, this was a fascinating (and well attended – including 4,500+ attendees) talk about the cultural crossovers that exist between 1/1’s and PFPs.

NFT Paris is happening this Saturday, January 22nd. Micol will be speaking at an exciting discussion with some of the brightest leaders in our community, and has also curated the exhibition at Station F, Paris. Read all about it below!

This Wednesday, VerticalCrypto Art had the pleasure of officially opening the VerticalCrypto Art Residency Auction in Arium Spaces:

The VCA Metaverse in Arium Spaces

The evening began with an exclusive Twitter Spaces vernissage at 5 pm with Cohort II: the second group of the VerticalCrypto Art Residency programme. Welcomed by fellow mentors, collectors, friends and family, the residents were delighted to discuss creative processes and motivations behind their exhibited works.

A few hours later (at 7 pm UTC), the main event was about to begin in Arium Spaces. Audiences awaited to see the VCA metaverse, and discover artworks presented within our unparalleled cross-chain auction supporting ETH and Tezos.

The Center Stage – the VCA Residency Auction

The VCA metaverse was incredible! Brought to life with an immersive meta-festival featuring live DJ sets by Eclectic Method, resident artist Garrison Fortress and more, the VerticalCrypto Art space made by Mical Noelson, Borya XYZ and Lisa Kolb showcased the very best from VerticalCrypto Art.

Shortly after opening, VCA’s founder, Micol, gave a curatorial tour of the 17 artworks on auction in Tezos and Ethereum(the VerticalCrypto Art Auction House being the first ever Crypto Art auction to support both currencies). Over 1300+ people visited the metaverse from all over the world to celebrate Cohort II for their great achievements.

Far left: Pierre Gervois; left: Christian Hernández; middle: Hypereikon; right: Fahmi Mursyid.

As you can imagine, our resident artists were in their best form. Presenting new creative flair and innovation, they combined 2D and 3D elements, experimented with iconography and explored generative and crypto poetry mediums to realise works that are unusual within their larger oeuvre. Some went as far as to create their own metaverses, within the VCA metaverse(!):

Ikaro Cavalcante’s ‘Save Your Progress’ – the VCA Residency Auction

Borya XYZ’s ‘Pieces of Garbage’ – the VCA Residency Auction

Exercising diligence in presentation, artists Borya XYZ and Ikaro Cavalcante, for example, presented works within the main exhibition space of the Auction and their own galleries. These environments allowed artworks to manifest around audiences, contributing a new ethereal layer to their display. Ikaro’s space was also the location for the VCA Auction afterparty at 9 pm!

The whole magic behind the VerticalCryptoArt Residency Auction metaverse, however, is thanks to two excellent people from VCA: resident artist/meterverse architect Mical Noelson, Borya XYZ and VCA team member head of metaverse production, Lisa Kolb. These three led the entire production and realization of the Auction space: discussing artists’ ideas and Micol’s vision for the space at length during their twelve-week residency. Receiving high praise from renowned metaverse architect and mentor, UntitledXYZ (Kirk), they deserve all the credit for making the auction space a reality.

Far left: Garrison Fortress; middle: Zareen Fava; right: Ikaro Cavalvante

Left: Mr Richi; right: LatentEntropy

And we have yet to discuss pieces by the larger cohort! All of the works included in the VCA Residency Auction Event are unique, conveying a large group of emotions and symbolism. Works such as ‘mtm’ by Zareen Fava, Mr Richi’s ‘Let Them Eat Feta’, and Garrison Fortress’ ‘Wish Your Were Ubiquitous’, for example, remain consistent with the artists’ oeuvres, while also addressing topics of heritage, culture and childhood from new perspectives.

And as always, all attendees were able to collect an exclusive POAP from the event!

All in all, the VerticalCrypto Art Residency Auction was everything the VCA team had hoped for. Uniting graduating artists, collectors, friends and the larger Crypto Art community, this monumental exhibition was a huge success.

The VCA team would like to express how immensely proud we are of Cohort II for everything they have achieved over the past twelve weeks. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours here in the big old Metaverse, and thank them for the wonderful evening. 

We are proud to continue supporting emerging artists through the VerticalCrypto Art Residency, elevating the discourse around metaverse culture through curated content, exhibitions, and special auctions. We also extend our gratitude to Tezos Foundation for making the VCA Residency possible.

If you haven’t visited the VerticalCrypto Art metaverse yet, you can do so by visiting Arium Spaces here.

Click here to see the full catalogue of artworks from the VerticalCrypto Art Resident Auction Event.

Read the press release here.

Micol Attends NFT Paris! 

Coming up this weekend: Micol will be attending NFT Paris tomorrow, January 22nd at Station F!

Speaking at ‘NFTs & Democratization of the Art Market’ with guests Diane Drubay (Founder, We Are Museums/AlterHEN), Kate Vass (Founder, Kate Vass Galerie), Arago Founder and CEO, Pierre-Etienne Pommier, this panel – moderated by Fanny Lakoubay (NFT advisor, LAL Art) – is sure to be an informative exchange between thought leaders in the NFT community concerning Web3 innovations and the positive impact Crypto Art has had within the contemporary art market.

Micol is also curating NFT Paris’ gallery spaces within the Station F venue. We look forward to telling you more about this next week, so stay tuned – VCA hopes to see you tomorrow!

If you are not in Paris, watch the event live here. You can also receive the latest updates from NFT Paris via their Twitter page.

PFPs & Art: What’s the Deal? 

To be embed: https://twitter.com/thisaintanika/status/1483141464557330438

On Tuesday, Micol presented Discussing Art NFTs, co-hosted with Crypto Art curators and writers Anika Meier and Jesse Damiani. This week’s topic discussed: ‘PFPs & Art: What’s the Deal’?

Featuring guest speakers Colborn Bell, Thomas Webb, Matt Medved, Andrew Wang, Mondoir, StellaBelle  and Mark Sabb, this episode specifically looked at the perspectives from influential crypto artists, metaversal gallery founders and collectors, and the crossovers between PFPs, 1/1s, and the psychology of expressing personality via collectible NFTs on Twitter.

Discussing various collectible projects, guests had a historic and/or emotional attachment with their chosen PFPs, due to OG heritage, new innovation and contributions to the history of the blockchain in general.

The topic of elitism (which has recently become associated with high-liquidity series such as Bored Aye Yacht Club) was introduced during this conversation. It was clear that a large proportion of the community is emotionally invested in PFPs, whilst others see them as exclusive tokens; only available to a select, rich few.

Shortly afterwards, PFPs were then put into the context of the larger narratives of art history. A reflection of the current interests of artists and collectors of the early 21st-century, PFPs resemble how contemporary digital art is being appreciated right now, while they inform the NFT ecosystem as a whole.

This discussion was fascinating. Micol, Anika and Jesse drew voices in from all around the Crypto Art community, welcoming OGs and thought-leaders alkie, to discuss a prevalent and meaningful asset within Crypto Art.

In case you missed it, rewatch this week’s Discussing Art NFTs discussion here.

And make sure to catch up on previous episodes here.

In Conclusion 

We have experienced yet another fantastic week here at VerticalCrypto. Thank you for sharing this very exciting Weekly Roundup with us. See you at the next one! 

Turn on notifications to keep up with the latest announcements from VerticalCrypto Art