Mint Gold Dust - 79Au

79AU | 4.28-5.5

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

For this special edition of 79Au, we are highlighting Freddie 1.0, the genesis NFT collection from pioneer Arab artist Dia al-Azzawi.

For over half a century, Dia al-Azzawi’s work has celebrated Arab culture while blurring the boundaries between art forms and embracing new technologies. His iconic paintings and sculptures have been exhibited all around the world, and today at 12pm EST, his first NFT collection drops on Mint Gold Dust.

Ahead of the launch, we talked with Dia about his jump into NFTs and the inspiration behind the collection as a whole. Check it out below:

Tell us about your new NFT collection, Freddie 1.0.

This collection of eight digital sculptures is inspired by my grandson, Freddie, whose enthusiasm for playing and interacting with the world around him is a source of constant joy to me. I have attempted to capture this enthusiasm in the form of a toy that any young child might want to play with, which also reflects the energy and passion of youth itself. Instead of realizing these works as physical objects that could become irrelevant and be easily discarded, I decided that the idea of creating sculptures that can be stored forever on a Blockchain would be more relevant to Freddie as he grows up. They can be passed down to future generations.

What inspired you to create an NFT collection after finding success in the traditional art world over the past few decades?

I am best known for traditional artforms, such as painting on canvas and cast bronze sculptures, but embracing new technology has always been one of the most important ways in which I keep my practice relevant. For example, I have been creating artworks and designing other objects on Illustrator and Photoshop for many years; so the computer often replaces my traditional sketchbooks and has therefore become an essential part of my work. I have also used non-traditional techniques, such as 3D scanning and printing, to realize some of these ideas as physical sculptures, so it seemed a natural progression to start realising them as NFTs.

Can you walk us through the process of creating these digital artworks? How did the creation process vary from painting or sculpting?

As mentioned above, I often design sculptural works on the computer and I originally intended to realise these sculptures via 3-D printing: this is how this NFTs collection started. When I learnt more about digital art, I understood that the possibilities of changing the sculptures were boundless and I found this freedom exhilarating. Even though bright colours are a key part of every part of my practice, I enjoyed exploring eclectic and vibrant colour combinations in this series due to this freedom.

Do you have a favourite piece from this collection?

The first one (which is entirely gold except for some red highlights) is my favourite as the overall form is the essence of any sculpture, while varying the colours and surface design comes later.

What advice would you give other artists looking to get into the NFT space?

I have previously advised other artists to be modest but always be ready to challenge yourself with a new idea. The idea of making NFTs is extremely new so just try to make something and see how it goes!

Dia al-Azzawi’s Freddie 1.0 launches today, 5/5, at 12pm EST on Mint Gold Dust. Click here to learn more about each piece and the collection.

Catch up on last week’s edition of 79Au where our community manager begins to break down the value of collaboration in Web3. Next week, she’ll be doing a a Part 2 focused on the importance of competition, collaboration’s counterpart.

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Weekly Recap

79AU | 4.21-28

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

This piece is a part of Allan Linder’s latest collection, the Eternal Energy series. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it always was, always has been, everything that ever existed always exists, it’s moving into form, through form, and out of form.

“Your life right now is a mirror of your past thoughts. ⁠ What will your life look like with your future thoughts? Today can be the first day of your new Thought Creation.”

Collaboration and Competition in Web3 Communities:

A Deeper Dive into Collaboration

This week, our community manager does a deep dive into the importance of collaboration in Web3. Check back next week as we explore the value of competition.

Dynamic, collaborative communities are the backbone of successful projects in Web3. As they grow, they breed a new level of competition that is a driving force of the decentralized space. Empowered individuals with a refreshed sense of autonomy push for a more equitable and sustainable society through collaborating with like-minded parties who agree the future of the web can be better by being different.

Look no further than Bored Ape Yacht Club to understand the power in a forward-thinking community. The de facto rockstars of the NFT space have cultivated a billion-dollar ecosystem around viral images of bored apes. As they creep toward a million followers on Twitter, it’s impossible to ignore the chatter around the project and between community members. Holders relay news and updates via social media in real time, and you’d be hard-pressed to find an alternate faction without at least one Ape or Ape variant profile picture on display. The community creates their own merchandise, holds Twitter Spaces and AMAs for those entering their corner of the Metaverse, and continually propels the project to the top of searchable trends.

But do these benefits only favor NFT collectors? An NFT co-op project that predates Bored Ape points to no.

The demonstrated history between partnerships and building social capital paints a picture of exactly how imperative these bonds are to constructing a prosperous project in the NFT space that can be beneficial for artists. In early March of 2021, a 100-strong force known as “The Ultimate Artist Collaboration” not only minted out within minutes but crashed the platform hosting the project. The catch? The initial drop was anonymous, only hinting that there was a mix of both well and lesser-known artists in the partnership.

Project curator, Loopifyyy, released his initiative with the aim to explore the way smaller collectors and artists value artwork. Reaching out to 100 artists with a 10-day deadline and 3 genres to choose from, Loopifyyy rallied a community of creatives around the project. The genesis launched at 0.3 Ethereum and has amassed 112 Ethereum in volume. While this number may seem lower in comparison to large names like Bored Ape, CryptoKitties, or Crypto Punks this specific instance of relative success is noteworthy as the project invited artists who would not have otherwise had an opportunity to enter the space due to problematic limitations like high gas fees, limited visibility, and inexperience with the necessary technology. There is potential in the collective.

Projects that combine thoughtful leadership and a community willing to offer up its collective strength will more often than not succeed in the space and will continue to prove the value and, indeed, the necessity of creative collaboration.

While the consensus agrees that the collaborative aspect of developed communities is what fosters the sense of niche inclusivity that is a defining factor of Web3 over its predecessors; that same tight-knit atmosphere contributes forward momentum by pushing competing projects to prove themselves worthy of community support by creating and embracing utility.

Last week, we announced our upcoming drop with Pioneer of Arab art, Dia al-Azzawi. Learn all about the upcoming collection and drop details here.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 4.14-21

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

Critically Acclaimed Arab artist Dia al-Azzawi to launch first NFT collection on Mint Gold Dust

Pioneer of modern Arab art Dia al-Azzawi announces his genesis NFT collection, Freddie. The collection is set to drop May 5th on Mint Gold Dust, featuring 8 artworks.

Born in Baghdad in 1939, the 83-year-old artist is now living and working in London. His impressive work negotiates new relationships between the past and the present, and for the first time in his career, he has entered a new medium working in digital art.

Inspired by his grandson Frederick, the NFT collection was created to express his love and fondness for his grandson and the importance of our future generations and what we leave behind. Young people hold the key to creating a better future for us and they are the most affected by what our world faces today.

Describing his new collection, Dia explained, “I wanted to create a body of work that captures a young child’s energy using the traditional shapes and colours I grew up with. By embracing this connection between the old and the new, the Freddie collection allows me to leave a piece of my childhood in the metaverse for future generations to enjoy.”

This first collection drop in the Freddie series is set to drop on Mint Gold Dust at 12pm EST on May 5th, 2022. Make sure to follow us on Twitter (@mintgolddust) for teasers from the drop.

Miss our last edition of 79Au where our new Community Manager discussed the importance of building empowered communities in web3? Catch up here.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 4.1-7

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

Crypto Culture: Building Empowered Web3 Communities

There’s a message floating around the crypto space and as those invested watch the next evolutionary step of the internet unfold, it is being widely embraced; “You’re never too late to be early.” A new generation of investors are on the lookout for upcoming launches that could be life-changing in a sea of noisy start-ups vying for attention. A project can tote its talented development team, or tweet about secured grants and investment capital, but if the Web3 boom has taught these would-be investors anything, it’s that community can make or break a campaign.

It’s clear that the most successful DeFi protocols, DAO’s, and blockchains have the support of strong communities behind them. Their multi-platform reach engages and encourages members to be active and bridges the gap between the teams working behind the scenes and those utilizing the end product. This opportunity for an audience to act as a voice in the shared idea of a project creates self-sustaining networking, and in turn community growth flourishes within the space as like-minded individuals connect.

So, what does that mean for Mint Gold Dust?

At its core, Mint Gold Dust was created to be a decentralized peer-to-peer platform for artists and collectors to transact seamlessly on chain. When we launched in November 2021, we began to grow our community by sponsoring and attending events such as NFT.NYC, ETH Denver, and more. Fast forward to 6 months in operation, we’re ready to kick that up a notch.

Simply put, we want to invest in our growing community while providing information and transparency through active participation. Our artists and collectors remain the most valuable asset our project holds, and we’d like to include you in our development. As we continue to reflect and build on community feedback on how best to provide a unique working space for the intersection of art and technology, we are ready to make some big changes.

The new Mint Gold Dust Discord has opened its doors and would like to extend an invitation to all artists and collectors in the space. Official announcements regarding significant changes will be pushed through these channels, and our community will be able to engage and provide feedback in real time. We need to know what’s working and where we have opportunities to grow. We’ll also be using this outlet to better connect individual artists with their collectors through providing an open house gathering space allowing for AMA’s and casual conversation.

Need to reach us faster or can’t wait to show us an artist you’ve found? We’re strengthening our presence on Twitter. Feel free to stop by and shout out to our Community Manager (our Resident Giraffe) or drop a link in the comments. We would love to see the art that captures your attention and uplift new and existing artists in the space. Show us what you’re working on for the day, or just pop in to say ‘gm’ — we’re around to say it back.

There’s more to come from Mint Gold Dust as we advance our ecosystem. We’re committed to continuing to highlight the voices of our artists and collectors, and that starts with giving each of you an inclusive space to share your thoughts and ideas while we move forward as a collective. Our strength is in our community, and we’re excited to have you mint your own gold dust with us. You’re definitely early.

March was a big month for Crypto events. Check out our recap of events in last week’s edition of 79Au here and subscribe to 79Au to be the first to hear about our plans for the next installment of NFT.NYC.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 3.24-31

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

March NFT Event Circuit

After celebrating the web3 community at SXSW in Austin earlier this month, the Mint Gold Dust team packed up their bags again and headed out to Greenport, NY for NFT Weekend where founder and CEO Kelly LeValley Hunt was invited to speak. The weekend-long event centered around educating and building an NFT community in North Fork.

Featured speakers included Charlotte Kent, an arts writer and assistant Visual Studies professor at Montclair University, Eliza Jordan, Senior Editor of Whitewall Magazine, and Wen Zhou, CEO of 3.1 Phillip Lim. The intimate weekend took place at Sound View hotel where Mint Gold Dust had six NFT artworks on display.

Fresh off the tails of NFT weekend, the Mint Gold Dust team headed out west for NFT LA to meet with the local and global NFT community that had gathered.

For NFT LA, Mint Gold Dust will be hosting a party with Satellite on Friday, 4/1, from 9pm-2am. The event will be a chance to celebrate the end of a great week with music, dancing, and an open bar.

Last week, we interviewed Miles Starkey, artist and Executive Director of the HOPE Campaign, about our latest collaboration. Check out the discussion here.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 3.17-24

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

An Interview with Miles Starkey of the HOPE Campaign

Earlier this month at SXSW, we launched our collection with HOPE Campaign and Illust Space. The artworks were originally spray-painted murals on 8’ x 8’ canvases that were displayed at the Austin Convention Center during SXSW.

The pieces were then scanned, animated, and minted on Mint Gold Dust, creating an archive of the exhibition.

We recently sat down with HOPE Campaign’s executive director and Mint Gold Dust guest curator Miles Starkey to talk about HOPE’s mission, Street Art, and more. Check out the conversation below:

Tell us about the HOPE Campaign’s mission?

The mission of HOPE Campaign is to connect creatives with causes through projects and events. Our 501(c3) nonprofit strives to empower creatives, young and old, to elevate the community and social causes through programs, campaigns and activations.

A lot of the work that HOPE does is connecting artists to their community. What role does community play in an artist’s journey?

A community not only provides support and feedback, but is often the inspiration and means of reflection in an artist’s life. Community encourages connections and in turn – cultivates the growth of art.

You are an artist yourself. What inspires you when you are creating your work?

My creative process has no rhyme or reason, but I believe strongly in sharing happiness and inspiration with others. In the words of Dolly Parton, “if you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours!”

What do you think makes NFTs attractive to street artists in particular?

Street Artists, muralists, graffiti writers and other community facing creatives can easily utilize NFTs as another form of expression, but NFTs also present endless potential for financial freedom.

What’s one piece of advice you’d give artists (street artists or otherwise) who are interested in dipping their toes into NFTs?

You are only limited by your creativity.

Miss our full recap of our time in Austin for SXSW?

Catch up on last week’s edition of 79Au here.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79Au | 3.11-17

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

FEATURED ARTICLE

Mint Gold Dust SXSW Recap

This past weekend, Mint Gold Dust celebrated the new Illust Space PoP (Proof of Presence) feature with an event in Austin, TX at Something Cool Studios.

The event celebrated a city wide Augmented Reality (AR) Artwalk that featured over 30 artists from Austin and around the world. The theme, Tributary, centered around a local to global storyline by encouraging global change through grassroots and local movements, curated by Searchlight.

Artist Jeff Zavala of ZCreative Media expanded,

“What if we could use blockchain and non-fungible tokens to preserve the culture of Austin?

Behind every great city is a thriving artist community but with the massive growth of Austin, some of its heart and soul is at risk of being lost.

We aim to help solve the starving artist dilemma by empowering a new type of storytelling. NFT collectors can now have ownership in the story of Austin’s growth while at the same time helping to preserve and uplift the local artist community.

The goal is to inspire street artists and documentarians to pick up new tools like crypto, blockchain and NFTs to preserve their work for future generations.”

For this curation, Mint Gold Dust minted a selection of these works on our platform, available now.

The event also highlighted the HOPE Campaign, a collective of muralists and street artists based in Austin. HOPE invited 10 artists to paint 10 murals inside the Austin Convention center, home to the SXSW Interactive exhibition hall and panel discussions throughout the week.

HOPE teamed up with Mint Gold Dust and Illust Space to animate these works and mint them on chain. Traditionally, street artists have their work painted over in a matter of days or weeks, but by utilizing the power of the blockchain, artists can now archive their works on chain and see all who checked-in at the mural using PoP technology.

Artists from the drop included Jiminai, Helena Martin, Samara Barks, Kimie Flores, and Gabriel Portillo.

Keep a look out this coming week as the remainder of the pieces are minted on Mint Gold Dust.

Miss last week’s edition of 79Au? Click here to catch up and learn more about the Mint Gold Dust x Illust Space collaboration at SXSW.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79Au | 3.3-10

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

FEATURED ARTICLE

PoP Austin | Mint Gold Dust x Illust Space

Mint Gold Dust partner Illust Space, the team that brought you the world’s first augmented reality NFT with MF DOOM in 2020 and the first traveling AR Exhibition “Ghosting” in 2021, will be launching Proof of Presence (PoP) March 11th, 2022, followed by a secret event in Austin on Sunday March 13th, 2022 for select PoP token holders.

A PoP is an NFT token or credential which is awarded to fans, audiences, crowds, and day 1’ers who “check-in” at any concert, art installation, mural, or augmented reality sculpture on the Illustrative Space browser application. PoP token receivers will be able to redeem their tokens for access into events, exclusive communities, NFT airdrops from their favorite artists, and more. A PoP can be seen as a location based digital ticket which is stored as a proof on Polygon, an environmentally sustainable L2 blockchain.

Spearheading the launch of this system, Mint Gold Dust is working with local Austin Muralist Collective Hope Campaign to activate 10 special murals at the SXSW convention center. Anyone who visits the pieces will have the opportunity to claim a PoP token, marking their presence at the activation on the blockchain. This token will give 150 lucky fans and Austinites access to a secret live performance presented by Illust Space, Mint Gold Dust, Mesh Records, Marfa Spirits, Searchlight Art, and Something Cool Studios.

The 10 murals will be minted as NFTs and be available for purchase on Mint Gold Dust’s marketplace beginning March 11th, 2022. The NFT collection will act as an archive of the activation and give the participating artists an opportunity to earn royalties on their work.

Also accompanying the event is an AR NFT geo-drop along Austin’s Lady Bird Lake and surrounding city hotspots, curated by Searchlight. The artists in the drop were invited to create work inspired by Tributaries, a river or stream that flows into a larger body of water. The theme serves as a larger metaphor for local responsibility leading to impact on a global scale. The pieces will be visible to the public beginning March 11th and are available on Mint Gold Dust now for those looking to add pieces from the drop to their collection.

Announcing Curated Spaces

Mint Gold Dust is proud to announce Curated Spaces, a home for art projects, guest curations, and artist collections. This space was created to promote collaboration, foster community, and tell stories in the NFT space.

Want to catch up on the latest editions of the 79Au Weekly Recaps?

Check out the latest here.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79AU | 2.3-2.11

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

Part of the Four Seasons series, this artwork is inspired by the melting ice phenomenon and its implications. Check out other pieces from this series here.

“The best way is not to fight it, just go.” – bebber

“Atlantic City isn’t what it once was, but it’s still there.” – Sinuous Rills

FEATURED ARTICLE

Mint Gold Dust will be hosting a live auction at ETH Denver’s Closing Party on February 20th at 6 pm MT in the Sports Castle. This event is a follow up to the successful auction at the NFT.NYC happy hour last fall where Mint Gold Dust placed a $500,000 Rare Pepe Nakamoto Card with Metakovan, the buyer of Beeple’s, Everydays: The First 5000 Days, among other rare and vintage NFTs.

“In years past at ETH Denver, I’ve had the opportunity to paint the walls, judge Hackathons, and enjoy being amongst some of the best Web3 developers in the world. This year the Mint Gold Dust team will bring an NFT live auction to ETH Denver for the Closing Party to share more vintage NFTs and crypto art on chain with our community. 2022 marks my 5th ETH Denver, and I’m excited to bring this new element to the event.” – Mint Gold Dust Founder and CEO Kelly LeValley Hunt

Auction lots will be announced on www.mintgolddust.com on Valentines Day.

FEATURED PODCAST

This week, Eleonora Brizi and Seth were able to sit with Tony Barnes of the Hipgnosis Songs Fund to talk about how NFTs can be applied to the distribution of music, how artists can expect to use NFTs to create enhanced experiences for their fans and their communities, and begin to discuss how blockchain technology can help make sure royalties are actually paid to the artists for their work.

Miss last week’s edition? Catch up here.

Weekly Recap

4 years ago Weekly Recap by : Mint Gold Dust

79Au | 1.28-2.3

FEATURED ARTWORKS OF THE WEEK

“This project commenced after exploring archaeological and architectural sites in Rome and around Napoli, layered with thinking around contemporary artistic expressions and movements such as Parkour.  

The research raised questions around the concept of citizenship and freedom of movement, the status of a citizen in Greco-Roman ethics through the Roman empire to the present times of migration crises.” – JAYKOE

Wanda Oliver is an experimental photographer based in Texas. Her photographic works are abstract and non-representational due to her unique treatment of chemical and light on photosensitive substrates.⁣⁠
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“I am artist and mad scientist, always ready to ask, ‘what if?’ and set out to answer my own question.”⁣⁠
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Her series “Blue Planet” is a tryptic that was inspired by surveying landscapes from above. All 3 pieces are available now on Mint Gold Dust. ⁣⁠
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“Floating blue planet⁣⁠. Only refuge, only home,⁣⁠ Endangered Mother.”⁣⁠

FEATURED ARTICLE

MINT GOLD DUST SPONSORS ETH DENVER 2022

The annual ETH Denver event is a member-owned community gathering that’s now grown to over 5,000 attendees, a festival of sorts. The ETH Denver ethos revolves around bringing diverse and creative people together for the common purpose of building in Web3, creating new financial infrastructures, and shaping the community at a local and international level all the while focusing on finance, art, music, governance, sustainability, and doing good.

As a part of their sponsorship, Mint Gold Dust will be hosting a live auction at the event’s closing ceremony on February 20th at the Sports Castle. This event is a follow up to the successful auction at the NFT.NYC happy hour last fall where Mint Gold Dust placed a $500,000 Rare Pepe Nakamoto Card with MetaKovan, the buyer of Beeple’s, Everydays: The First 5000 Days, among other rare and vintage NFTs.

“In years past at ETH Denver, I’ve had the opportunity to paint the walls, judge Hackathons, and enjoy being amongst some of the best Web3 developers in the world. This year the Mint Gold Dust team will bring an NFT live auction to ETH Denver for the Closing Ceremony to share more vintage NFTs and crypto art on chain with our community. 2022 marks my 5th ETH Denver, and I’m excited to bring this new element to the event.”

— Mint Gold Dust Founder and CEO Kelly LeValley Hunt

The live auction will feature the G of the OG’s, TheOG Goodman as auctioneer and Breezy’s Eleonora Brizi as the auction curator. The auction will include several rare NFTs as well as a rare sighting of a few Buffalo-Unicorns, aka “Bufficorns,” courtesy of the ETH Denver team. Auction lots will be available to view on Valentine’s Day at www.mintgolddust.com.

FEATURED PODCAST

In the world of cryptoart, and increasingly the world at large, Hackatao needs no introduction.

A pair of artists who live and work together outside Milan, they are true originals in the digital art world, both in their immediately identifiable aesthetic as well as their status as early pioneers of the symbiosis of art and blockchain. Their immense artistic vision has led to high profile artistic collaborations but, as always, they tirelessly continue to create, experiment and explore their own artistic roadmap and the ever-unfolding possibilities of the blockchain.

The duo joins us on the podcast to talk about Gold Dust and their unique piece for Mint Gold Dust’s Genesis 8 series, “PRIMORDIAL.”

Take a look back at last week’s edition of 79Au here to learn about the rising graffiti NFT movement and the first edition of NFT Paris.