Happy spring from Mint Gold Dust!
As we shed our winter layers, we’re transformed by the thoughts of warmer weather, sunshine, and regenerative vibes as we continue to cultivate and nurture the enthusiasm in the NFT and digital art spaces.
NFT.NYC is coming to New York City next week and we are excited to re-connect with our Web3 community and learn about the latest projects from the far reaches of the Metaverse.
This is an opportune time to experience the upcoming Mint Gold Dust collection, Portal Realms, put together by our good friend, artist, and curator @JenJoyRoybal.
JenJoy is the co-founder/CEO at SearchLight.art, a woman-led blockchain art organization championing inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility for artists of all types, from all walks.
Last year, JenJoy curated an amazing collection on the Mint Gold Dust platform called CU3NTOS, six pieces from LatinX, Web3 artists that reflect holding onto slipping cultural identities, recalling fading memories, and the nostalgia for the sights and sounds of our youth.
View CU3NTOS.
JenJoy admires the viewpoints of futurist Amy Webb, professor at NYU Stern School of Business and CEO of the Future Today Institute.
In Amy’s recent talk at SXSW 2023, she shared the 16th edition of the Tech Trends Report about how signals are mixing in ways that she’s never seen before – there’s a lot of noise, and this can feel very destabilizing. She explained that even with the advances we have made in tech, there are still many biases and oversights to be on the lookout for.
It’s recognized that new patterns in tech movements take some adjustment, which is a big part of the exploratory theme in Portal Realms. JenJoy believes artists play an important role in making sense of these patterns in much the same way that the artists in the 20th Century helped to make sense of the rise of the industrial age.
“The key is looking at the convergences among, and in between, these technological advancements. In the cacophony of activity is a view of what’s to come. By looking at the confluences, we are able to see a pattern.”
“I like the idea that play, poetry, and art can offer up more perspective about the future, that – with a hint of the absurd – can support this rapidly accelerated transformation we’re undergoing.” she continues, “This show gives viewers a glimpse into that critical activity.”
Look for Portal Realms in the Mint Gold Dust Curated Spaces very soon.
NEXT WEEK
Next Tuesday, April 11, 5:30-7:30PM in NYC:
Our educational and explorative event for artists and art lovers:
“What’s the deal with NFTs?”
Mint Gold Dust Founder, Kelly LeValley Hunt, will address what to consider before creating an NFT, proven provenance, further opportunities for royalties, and helping to restore power to creators.
Tuesday, April 11th from 5:30 – 7:30PM (ET).
Location: The Yard @Herald Square, 106 W 32nd St, NYC.
We’ll be revealing the first NFT by current artist on display at The Yard: Herald Square, Laura Umaña.
Observe and engage in a step-by-step conversation about creating crypto art.
We would love to see you there! RSVP here!
Check out last week’s 79Au to get a closer look into the thoughts behind some of our artist’s creations and their take on the importance of digital art. Read here.
Ready to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide to get started. Ready to start minting? Apply to talk with our curatorial team today.
Join us tonight, December 2nd from 6-9pm, at 3400 Northwest 7th Avenue to celebrate the launch of the Theo’s Gallery genesis collection on Mint Gold Dust! “Humans & Animals,” curated by “The OG” Theo Goodman, includes exclusive new works from Nathan Sonic, Mr. Yuk, and Otto Von Schirach. It also features a selection of RAREPEPES, including a set of 6 that features the first NFT from CZ (PBOCPEPE) from 2017.
“The tension between the old and known, and the new and unknown increases…It is up to us to put thought to sound, hand to image, voice to story, and build the party that will destroy the legacy system to create new from the ash.” – Curator Theo Goodman
The event will feature a digital gallery showcasing the works, a live NFT auction, and a live performance from Otto Von Schirach.
We will also be exhibiting a second collection virtually in partnership with Illust Space. A selection of Mint Gold Dust NFTs will be geo-dropped into Augmented Reality around the venue. Artists include Chazz Gold, 4everkurious, Rakkaus Art, and more. Each piece can be discovered using your smartphone by navigating to the pins on our exclusive AR map on Illust Space.
We look forward to celebrating and sharing art with you tonight!
Last week on 79Au, we interviewed Mint Gold Dust artist Mila Sketch on her transition from murals to NFTs. Check out the interview here.
Ready to get started as an artist or collector on Mint Gold Dust? Check out our Metamask start up guide to get started. Ready to start minting? Apply to talk with our curatorial team today.
Mint Gold Dust is a curated NFT platform and ecosystem focused on highlighting artist and collector voices while promoting quality over quantity. The unique platform offers an always-on, 24/7 artist marketplace, a creative studio for NFT creators, and managed service Whitelabel solutions for digital and physical NFTs.
For NFT Paris, Mint Gold Dust presents their genesis collection and selections from their marketplace, alongside curatorial powerhouse Breezy.
In the Chinese language, the pronunciation of the number 8, “ba,” is very similar to that of the word prosper, “fa,” making the number 8 the most auspicious of all the numbers.
For the Genesis 8 series, we asked our 8 artists to express what Gold Dust is for them through the filter of their artistic vision, style, and techniques. For some, it evokes nostalgia and remembrance. For others, it’s the primal spark of creation and nature.
For us, Gold Dust is something very special. Every object, and by extension every person, possesses inherent worth as well as the innate potential to metamorphose into something far greater than its present state.
Bard Ionson’s piece Mysterious Value was created by training an AI model to create its own version of a Challenge Coin. In the US, these coins are given out as a reward for working on special projects or being top performers and have taken on a life of their own as collector’s items. The coins themselves held no material value, but the riches and mysticism lie in the stories they tell. LEARN MORE
Gisel Florez began her artistic journey through the lens of a camera. Eventually, her lifelong pursuit in the development of her own unique visual language and her love of light play led her naturally to the vast potential in the digital art world. Her piece Space in Touch was inspired by analyzing physical responses associated to interacting within an exponentially digitized life & economy. This piece references the energetic response to a physical touch. LEARN MORE
Giant Swan sculpts stunning, exquisitely detailed, ethereal creations. However he does not chip away at marble or mold clay; instead he plies his craft with a headset and controllers in the multi-dimensional medium of virtual reality. The pliable fabric of virtual reality allows for his conception of movement and form a freer reign than a static medium ever could and produce eternally memorable work. LEARN MORE
In Hackatao’s creation process, the stream of consciousness takes the shape of a stream of drawings. In the perpetuous and unstoppable flux of drawings that come to life from the unconscious, our inner demons and unspoken thoughts come to visit us and manifest in the form of art. In this artwork, the artists duo Hackatao goes even further, beyond the stream of visual manifestations, until reaching the matter itself. The duo keeps a jar of the left over art materials they have after a project that is filled with pencil nubs and graphite. To create this PRIMORDIAL, they used these left over materials to create something new. LEARN MORE
Stuart Ward (Mueo) shines a penetrating spotlight on the world of repetitive form in his works. Stuart Ward’s Transformation at the gates of eternity expresses a duality between denotative and connotative messages to create a sense of tension. From a denotative perspective, the piece is glossy and beautiful to look at, while from a connotative perspective, the artwork shows an intense moment of struggle and transformation of incomparable magnitude. LEARN MORE
Lily Honglei’s art explores the duality of opposing forces and the ensuing result as well as their experience as immigrants and Asian Americans. Their work remains consistent and ripe with humanity as they explore and sample a variety of mediums, from AR art, to VR art, to video art as well as more traditional static mediums. In this piece, The Butterfly Lovers, Lily Honglei symbolically highlight the dichotomy of having dignity and pride of their heritage while also experiencing the profound loneliness and isolation that comes with deep seated prejudices against the Asian American community. LEARN MORE
Ben Snell is a creative force whose works explore the meeting ground of technology and humanity while revealing the act of the creation as much as the production of the actual piece itself. Snell’s Ritual Nature intertwines the observer and the observed. The piece uses a sculptural interpretation of image-making that strips away the light and color of a photograph, leaving something raw and wild in its place. LEARN MORE
Lapin Mignon is known for her deeply personal and mesmerizing artworks. Her piece Anatomie D’Une Poussière d’Or began in a meditative state thinking about what gold dust might mean to her. From that, flashes of abstract shapes, color, and 80s inspired motifs began coming to mind. LEARN MORE
Mint Gold Dust features highly curated artworks from established and up and coming digital artists.
“In the blockchain, in particular inside MINT GOLD DUST, even the rain is different: made of gold and light, it becomes something precious, as it’s precious for an artist to be part of this community. Golden Rain with its Golden Drops, until they finally explode into billions of particles, both to spread light across the universe and to go back to the origins, where they were born: MINT GOLD DUST.” – Iovi Sacra Art
“In Made in abyss, I tried to personify the feeling of when you can’t take it anymore, when you get stuck and can’t find solutions to get out of it – almost as if you were drowning and could not do anything to avoid it.” – Le Visionnaire Sur La Lune
“In this increasingly crowded society of temptations and challenges we find ourselves having to adapt in order to ‘survive’ among the people. More and more frequently we are faced with situations where people hide what they really are for fear of being judged and labeled.” – Svccy
“Embrace is derived from the artist’s original painting on canvas. It symbolizes the power of physical touch, translating a sense of human connection, kindness, support, security, and love.” – Masha Ermeeva
“This artwork has two souls, physical (oil on canvas) and digital. Dream Variation was first created in oils in 2016, re-created and painted digitally with Procreate in 2018 and animated with After Effects in 2021.” – Dominque Czerednikow
“Part of the Four Seasons Series. This work, Autumn Pond, was inspired by the vibes and feelings of the autumn season. Pond with leaves and reflections of the skies above.” – Hyper Aesthetics
“Amura of the thousands rains.” – Ryota Nomura
Every year, city dwellers and art lovers flock down to Miami for Art Week, and this year, NFT enthusiasts went with them.
After a year off due to the Covid-19 pandemic, art fairs made a triumphant return in Miami. Many are already reporting record breaking attendance numbers, but that wasn’t the main attraction. This year the name of the game was NFTs. There were pop up NFT galleries, parties, and large public installations of digital art.
One of those projects was Mint Gold Dust’s geo-drop with Illust Space. Using Augmented Reality technology, we created a scavenger hunt around Miami’s hottest fairs and attractions. Visitors were able to use their phones to reveal artworks from Mint Gold Dust’s marketplace that were hiding in plain sight. Artists in the drop included Hackatao, Gisel Florez, Bard Ionson, and more.
The drop was an effort to democratize the art presented during art week, promote NFT artists, and introduce the art and tech communities to the unique AR technology that can bring your wallet to life.
Ahead of the drop, Mint Gold Dust CEO Kelly LeValley Hunt praised, “Miami Art Week attracts artists and collectors from around the world. By ‘hacking’ art fairs around the city, we are securing NFTs & Digital Art for now and the future.”
Also featured in the drop was $WHALE x BREEZY, an NFT curation of rare NFTs from $WHALE’s famed collection, The Vault. The curatorial team at BREEZY, led by Mint Gold Dust curator Eleonora Brizi, worked with $WHALE’s Head of Art, Decryptolorian, and Illust Space to geo-drop 20 works from the collection.
Eleonora Brizi commented, “We’re bringing art directly to the people, changing the shape of the city, and bringing people and physical experiences together through a digital medium…Through AR, we are making art more accessible for everyone.”
Stay tuned for more geo-drops and live events in 2022!
Mint Gold Dust is hacking Miami Art Week with augmented reality by creating a GPS scavenger hunt for NFTs. In partnership with Illust Space, Mint Gold Dust has geo-dropped NFTs from their marketplace throughout Miami, allowing fair-goers to follow a map and use their phones to reveal the works hiding in plain sight. The pieces are discoverable via Illust Space’s online app, https://ar.illust.space through December 5th.
Mint Gold Dust has dropped NFTs outside of Art Basel, SCOPE Miami Beach, Untitled, Art Miami, Spectrum, and at the Wynwood Walls. Artists in the drop include Hackato, Svccy, Gisel Florez, Bard Ionson, and more.
“Mint Gold Dust is not just a platform, but an ecosystem that functions to support artists and collectors. With the artists and collectors, plus the industries we have invested in and partnered with, Mint Gold Dust is a self-sustaining economy,” said Kelly LeValley Hunt, Founder and CEO of Mint Gold Dust. “Miami Art Week attracts artists and collectors from around the world. By ‘hacking’ art fairs around the city, we are securing NFTs & Digital Arts for now and the future.”
This year’s Miami Art Week is slated to return in a big way after 2020’s fairs were called off due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Fairs and events will be taking place around Miami and Miami Beach all week to celebrate the return of in-person art events.
Also, a part of the drop is $WHALE x BREEZY, an NFT curation of rare NFTs from $WHALE’s famed collection, The Vault. Curatorial team BREEZY has worked with Decryptolorian, $WHALE’s Head of Art, and Illust Space to geodrop over 20 works from the collection, giving people access to view this legendary collection in a unique and personal way.
“The $WHALE Vault has been deemed by many as one of the most historically and commercially significant collections of digital art in the world,” said Whaleshark. “It’s our pleasure to share the beauty of our collection with you as they come from the pioneers of a new digital era, empowered by true provenance and scarcity of blockchain tokenization.”
Breezy founder and Vault curator Eleonora Brizi added, “When I heard about what Illust Space was doing through Mint Gold Dust, everything clicked into place. They have one of the best AR tools I’ve seen, so it was the perfect fit to bring light to these pieces and stories from the Vault that I want to share with the world. We’re bringing the art directly to people, changing the shape of a city, and bringing people and physical experiences together through a digital medium. This is why I’m excited to be curating this collection and presenting artists like Hackatao, Pak, Giant Swan, Brendan Dawes, and more. Through AR, we are making this art more accessible for everyone by sharing it with the world.”
Last week, the Mint Gold Dust Team came from all around the globe to celebrate NFT.NYC and the official launch of our online ecosystem (www.mintgolddust.com). This was the largest NFT conference to date, spanning 4 venues with 5,500+ attendees.
On Day 1 of the event, the team met at the iconic red steps in Times Square bright and early to witness the billboards display NFTs from creators in the community.
Kicking off the conference, Mint Gold Dust Founder and CEO Kelly LeValley Hunt emceed the morning speakers at the Palladium theatre after introducing the crowd to Mint Gold Dust’s thriving ecosystem. That morning’s speakers included Noah Davis from Christie’s, Angela Dalton, CEO & Founder of Signum Growth Capital, and Ronin The Collector.
The theatre erupted in surprise when Kelly welcomed surprise guest, Quentin Tarantino to the stage to debut his new NFT collection composed of select handwritten scenes from the original Pulp Fiction manuscript.
On the second day, Mint Gold Dust hosted the official NFT.NYC Happy Hour at the Edison Ballroom Rooftop in Times Square. The evening started out with live jazz from the Tony Guerrero Quintet, featuring singer TAWANDA. As the sun went down, DJ Matthew Law took the stage spinning a selection of old favorites and new hits. The emcee of the evening was former Miss Universe, Paulina Vega. She previously worked with the Mint Gold Dust team on a New York Fashion Week project where they created an AR representation of her strutting through the streets of Tribecca by Spring Studios.
Pak at the Mint Gold Dust Happy Hour
Featured at the event was a presentation of Mint Gold Dust’s inaugural NFT exhibition, Genesis 8. For the Genesis 8 series, curator Eleonora Brizi asked 8 artists to express what Gold Dust is for them through the filter of their artistic vision, style, and techniques. The collection features exclusive works from Hackatao, Bard Ionson, Giant Swan, Gisel Florez, and more.
We also hosted a live vintage NFT auction featuring a unique selection of RAREPEPE NFTs, amongst other works. The highlight of the night was MetaKovan taking home a Series 1 RAREPEPE Nakamoto, “One of the most Rare Pepe’s in existence,” for $500,000. This piece, issued in 2016, pays homage to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
MetaKovan and Paulina Vega
To celebrate the end of a great week, the next day the NFT community flocked to Terminal 5 to check out Metapurse’s Dreamverse exhibition, featuring a digital installation of over 150 NFTs. After hours, Mint Gold Dust hosted the rooftop lounge at the official Dreamverse Party, featuring headliner Alesso and an interactive experiential display of Beeple’s famed EVERYDAYS: THE FIRST 5000 DAYS.
Also displayed were the works of Giant Swan, Hackatao, Josie Bellini, FEWOCiOUS, and more.
The event combined the best of art, music, and technology and was the perfect way to end such an inspiring week and celebrate the official launch of Mint Gold Dust. We are proud to announce at the end of the week, Mint Gold Dust had already transacted over $700,000 in the platform, and this is only the beginning.