79Au | 3.3-10

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.