Arts News
Pop-up art exhibit coming to Dallas spotlights state-of-the-art NFTs
UPDATE: As of Thursday, June 3, the VIP event on June 5 is sold out. Tickets remain for the June 12 event, organizers say.
---
A pop-up gallery featuring the hottest thing in art right now is coming to Dallas. The hottest thing being NFTs, which are digital/online-only artworks that can be anything from a drawing to a song to a tweet.
The first physical NFT Art Gallery is being cohosted by Landmark Center, at 1801 N. Lamar St., and Artist Uprising, a Richardson-based talent agency and art provider.
It'll take place at the Landmark a historic downtown building in the West End which btw was home to CultureMap Dallas' first office way back in '12, huzzah.
An NFT, or a non-fungible token, is a unique trading card that allows you to purchase Ethereum, a form of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. It's a new format for the art world to buy and sell art.
In a statement, Artist Uprising CEO Merrick Porchéddu says that the purpose of this event is two-fold.
"Firstly, to introduce forthcoming NFT drops to the art collector community worldwide while putting a spotlight on Dallas as a rapidly emerging art and tech hub," Porchéddu says. "Secondly, to introduce the public to the craze and educate new collectors on how to bid on digital artwork that will bring in an ROI that is unconventional to historical art trading."
Artist Uprising will be premiering several individual art pieces by breakout NFT artists, whose identities are still to be revealed, but who are collectively grossing over $1 million in online digital art sales in the last month. It's all about the sales.
Will the lineup include Beeple? He's the one whose stunning collage sold for $69 million at a Christie's auction, making him the third highest-grossing artist in the world. Probably not.
With the emergence of NFTs and sites such as Foundation, Nifty Gateway, and even Mark Cuban's new platform Lazy, creative talents of all kinds have the ability to collaborate and promote their unique pieces within the cyberworld. This drives curators and investors into a frenzy to bid and purchase minted artworks.
"The rise in popularity of the NFT art world has captured the attention of businesspersons, art fans, and ironically real estate owners too," says Nicholas Marine, Asset Manager at Landmark Center. "We believe in the power of creativity and endeavor to inspire innovation. We are excited to host the first digital art event in Dallas and by the prospects for innovation in this space in the future."
The pop-up gallery at Landmark Center will be hosted over two weekends in June:
- Saturday June 5 will be a VIP event that allows NFT collectors to preview artwork coming to the market, with a technology-focused installation that will incorporate an educational aspect of the exhibit. A Power Point presentation, maybe? Or is that too laughably passé, which you may note has an é just like in the cohost's name, Porchéddu.
- Saturday June 12 will be open to the public to learn about NFT art and give the peoples the chance to buy physical prints of the artworks that are history in the making. There'll also be accompanying drinks, food, and music.
Is it a little confusing that there's a physical event to celebrate digital artwork? Obviously, you need to get up to speed on the craze around NFTs and digital artwork, and this is the place to do it. If you're eyeing the VIP event on June 5, it'll cost you $100, but the public event on June 12 is $25. Get tickets and more info here.
The Perot Museum of Nature and Science's "Soccer: More Than a Game" is one of multiple exhibitions capitalizing on the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Photo courtesy of The Perot Museum Nature and Science. 
