Spring is a season of transformation. After the slumber of winter, nature comes back to life. And after a period
Curations | NFT.NYC | Mint Gold Dust event!
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.
Featured Artworks of the Week
Mint Gold Dust Marketplace Update
We are happy to announce we are renovating the Mint Gold Dust marketplace for an exciting 2023. Firstly, we will be focusing on a more streamlined user experience with features such as:
- Universal Profiles
- Memoirs on Chain
- Optimized Decentralized Metadata
- Online Auctions
- Tokengated Experieinces
- ERC-721 Contract Implementation
A note about the update from our Head of Smart Contract Development & Auditing, Casmir Patterson: “We’re committed to bringing a more decentralized vision for Mint Gold Dust to unleash our community’s potential and creativity in the Web3 Space. Building an immersive metaverse user experience encompassing new technologies like Galleries that use advanced geo-location technology provided by our partners, to revamping our bespoke Curated Spaces, and giving more power to our artists is our ultimate goal.”
While this update is taking place, we have paused all minting on the platform through the month of January. During this time, all other marketplace features will still be available including memoir writing and collecting.
We are excited to share with you the renovations of Mint Gold Dust this Spring!
Interview with Rakkaus Art
Rakkaus Art is a multimedia artist focused on connection, creation, compassion, and storytelling. Today, she shares her thoughts on AI art, her inspirations, and what she’s working on right now.
What inspires you about storytelling?
Many of the stories that live inside us can only emerge through creative expression, whether you mean to or not. Oftentimes I don’t even realize I’m telling a story until it’s finished. Painting is very meditative and a kind of intimacy with your soul that only shows up when it’s ready. I love an audience and telling a good story, and the actor in me wants to make sure you experience it as I did… in my art, you get to be there from the end, then experience feeling…and decide the story for yourself.
How has experimenting with AI been for you?
I haven’t done much with the AI generators, but I’ve tried my work in some of the filters with added descriptions to see how it morphs. As a mixed media artist, I love finding new tools that might add something new to my work. I have a couple ideas up my sleeve as to how I could potentially incorporate it in the future.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on a lot. I will likely start sharing more of my VR creations this year, just thinking of fun ways to bring it into the space. Otherwise, I continue to work with the human figure, abstract portraiture and digital experimentation. I enjoy discovering ways to emulate the feel of my IRL pieces through texture, brushstrokes and layers. I have started to introduce more elements of collage. I’m also very excited about launching my new fabric line and home decor designs this year.
Enjoy our interview with Rakkaus Art? Check out our artist interview from last week where we talk with Chazz Gold about all things AI/Gan art, his photo bashing process, and more 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.
Featured Artist of The Week – Chazz Gold
Chazz Gold is a photographer, DJ, addiction counselor, AI/Gan artist, and NFT creator and collector.
“I have been featured twice at NFT.NYC as well as NFT.LA with my Shapes of the Divine collection. The first time I was featured with Searchlight.Art and this past time with Sabat and spatial XR’s stratosphere show. I am involved with a handful of metaverse projects where I have shown work including galleries Cryptovoxel and Decentraland.”
Last week, the Cu3ntos collection, curated by JenJoy Roybal, launched on Mint Gold Dust. The collection features work from LatinX NFT artists reflecting on the role of cuentos in their own journeys and cultures.
Cuentos are passed down from generation to generation, and thanks to the Blockchain, these artists are able to immortalize their own cuentos, building out their digital legacies for the future. Each unique piece highlights the intersection of storytelling and technology while exploring themes of identity on a personal and cultural level.
JenJoy Roybal writes about the collection,
“Identity is a complex thing and the diaspora of Latinos or Hispanics is riddled with conflicting perspectives and experiences. The rise of the term LatinX came out of a desire to be more inclusive of people who self-identify as having Latin American heritage – who are also LGBTQ, or any other number of nuanced differences – and yet the term still falls short of properly defining the vast, multi-layered, global society. Perhaps we can look to sharing stories to better communicate our culture and identities, rather than labels?
Cuentos are often seen as children’s stories or fables that teach a lesson, make people cry or laugh or capture important moments. In this show, LatinX, Web3 artists were invited to explore cuentos with a personal take on the journeys they have witnessed or the ones they are on. The artwork at times reflects on favorite stories specific to their own culture, or were invented anew.
This is an invitation to a conversation and to the discovery of artists via their stories and the cuentos they love, including their own.”
Explore the collection below:
Creatress is a VR Performance artist at the intersection of virtual reality and fine art. Using a VR headset and a custom soundtrack to inspire the energy of spontaneous creation, she creates 3D abstract sculptures in front of live audiences.
Her latest piece “MesoMariposas” is an exploration of the Toltec and Mexica ancient belief that butterflies are the souls of those who have lived short lives. This piece is a mixture of 3D sculpting and AI.
Lucia Diaz is a first-generation Colombian-American and the Founder of LUCIA DIAZ, a Latina-owned business that empowers and honors Latinas through high-quality Illustrations. Lucia’s artworks are created with the goal of providing cultural representation and pride so that mujeres poderosas can see themselves represented in the world.
Layla Pizarro is a Visual Feeling Art researcher and artist who is constantly experimenting with new concepts, ideas, and techniques. For Cu3ntos, she has minted a photograph of maize that was used in preparation of making Humitas, a traditional Chilean dish, during the height of the global pandemic.
“Latin-American cultures have been teaching their children about maize for millennia through stories. These stories are taught in many different languages but share a very similar origin story of the Aztec god, Quetzalcoatl, and as you go down into South America, the Sun God. The importance of maize goes beyond nourishment. It provides the community with purpose, working all together to cultivate and harvest. Each generation of our community grows stronger, smarter, and more resilient, along with the maize and our traditions.”
JenJoy Roybal is an artist, urbanist, writer, editor, and digital content creator. She is inspired by humanity’s oldest stories and artworks related to sacred rituals and sacred space.
“Horse-man, Fire and the Book” is a part of her new series inspired by the cuentos and pueblo Indian (Hopi & Zuni) story dances. To create this piece, she fed an AI with the story as she remembered it from her youth. The output resulted in a piece that reflected the nuances of memory, time, and projection.
“The viewer can draw their own conclusions about what tale is unfolding – in that way, I love playing with my memories while others project their own.”
Born in Harlem, NY, Dr. Lemny Perez is an Afro-Dominican writer, actress, psychologist, abstract NFT artist & collector. She is a curator for the NFT.Tips Search Light Curatorial team & is the former Coaching Lead & Secretary Board Member at the Dream Conduit, a carbon neutral non-profit DAO. Her latest piece, “Mama ‘heard voices'” pays homage to those who battle severe mental illness in her family and beyond.
“Mama- Matriarch
Born Halloween, 1925
2nd youngest of 12
U lost both parents by 16
Had 5 kids & married for 66 yrsYou drank warm lemon water every AM,
used food as medicine
& were tormented by p-noid,
auditory hallucinations—”
Mint Gold Dust Event Form
In 2022, Mint Gold Dust welcomed our community to events in New York, Miami, Austin, Denver, and Los Angeles. Next year, find out if we’re hosting an event near you! Be the first to know about our upcoming events by filling out our 1-minute survey below.
Did you read our interview last week with Trish Gianakas? Check out her interview in last week’s 79AU 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.