Digital Editions
Newsletters
Subscribe
Digital Editions
Newsletters
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art market
Museums & heritage
Exhibitions
Books
Podcasts
Columns
Technology
Adventures with Van Gogh
Art Decoded
blog

Openness and charity break out among art and technology players at Miami Art Week

Tezos ecosystem and Arcual blockchain transaction platform disrupt the hedonistic exclusivity usually associated with the art world's winter party in Florida

Gretchen Andrew
6 December 2023
Share
Artist images that will form part of a Tezos at South Beach Event from 6 to 8 December, with part of the proceeds going to charity. Clockwise from top left: Casey Reas, CSRSNT-XAAI (21 of 32); RalenArc, Coral; Fingacode, LITMUS; Zach Lieberman and Iskra Velitchkova, Horizon(te)s; Agoston Nagy, m0-n0. Reas: © Casey Reas. RalenArc: © RalenArc. Fingacode © Fingacode. Lieberman and Velitchkova: © Zach Lieberman and Iskra Velitchkova.

Artist images that will form part of a Tezos at South Beach Event from 6 to 8 December, with part of the proceeds going to charity. Clockwise from top left: Casey Reas, CSRSNT-XAAI (21 of 32); RalenArc, Coral; Fingacode, LITMUS; Zach Lieberman and Iskra Velitchkova, Horizon(te)s; Agoston Nagy, m0-n0. Reas: © Casey Reas. RalenArc: © RalenArc. Fingacode © Fingacode. Lieberman and Velitchkova: © Zach Lieberman and Iskra Velitchkova.

Art Basel in Miami Beach is known for its VIP lists. Nightclubs like LIV at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel have ultra-exclusive lounges that operate not unlike the fair’s own VIP lounge. Yet something unusual is going on in the art tech world during this year’s Miami Art Week: an outbreak of openness and generosity.

Both the Tezos blockchain community and Arcual, a platform promising resale royalties and provenance tracking for physical artworks, are taking a different approach to Miami this year. It is worth considering how a more generous, open, and community-based ethos might have its roots in the structure of Web3 technology itself with its emphasis on distributed knowledge and data bases.

Both Arcual and Tezos are built on blockchain technology and have worked hard to be accepted by the traditional art world. Within the last year, both have had installations within the Art Basel tent: Tezos at last year’s Miami and Arcual in Basel.

Scavenger hunts and free shows

This year, however, Trilitech, a London hub of the Tezos ecosystem, is working with Refraction Festival to organise an augmented reality (AR) scavenger hunt along South Beach, with seven works to be found. From 6 to 8 December the community is also hosting Tezos @ South Beach, which includes exhibitions, panels and performances at the Nautilus Sonesta Miami Beach hotel as well as an NFT sale from which a share of proceeds are being donated to the Trevor Project, a US non-profit devoted to supporting young LGBTQ people. The events are free and open to the public, though capacity is limited so do come early.

More charity at Art Basel

While philanthropy and their resultant tax deductions have long been a part of the art world, they don’t usually surface at art fairs. Arcual, which has been working to make payment flows and provenance standards for physical art works automatic in the art world, will be launching a new online sales platform, Access by Art Basel, that automatically includes a donation pledge. The Miami Foundation and their Collective Impact funds and The International Committee of the Red Cross will receive part of the sales price of works available on the platform between 27 November and 10 December.

As with all payment flows in Arcual, this donation does not have to be managed or trusted to a middle man. It goes automatically and traceably to the charity.

Tezos @ South Beach, 6-8 December.

Art DecodedTechnologyArt Basel in Miami Beach 2023NFTTezosArt BaselMiamiFlorida
Share
Subscribe to The Art Newspaper’s digital newsletter for your daily digest of essential news, views and analysis from the international art world delivered directly to your inbox.
Newsletter sign-up
Information
About
Contact
Cookie policy
Data protection
Privacy policy
Frequently Asked Questions
Subscription T&Cs
Terms and conditions
Advertise
Sister Papers
Sponsorship policy
Follow us
Instagram
Bluesky
LinkedIn
Facebook
TikTok
YouTube
© The Art Newspaper

Related content

Technologynews
15 April 2024

Aleksandra Artamonovskaja is appointed head of arts for TriliTech, the entrepreneurship team supporting Tezos blockchain

Artamonovskaja, a leading consultant and moderator in the Web3 world, will oversee development of opportunities for artists across the Tezos ecosystem

Louis Jebb
NFTnews
12 May 2022

Tezos blockchain's foundation launches £1m fund to collect NFTs by African and Asian artists

Misan Harriman, the first Black photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover, has been entrusted with the collection—which launches as cryptocurrency markets plummet in value

Kabir Jhala
Art Basel in Miami Beach 2021news
1 December 2021

Art and crypto: a marriage made in Miami

As the mayor pledges to move Silicon Valley to the city, Art Basel in Miami Beach ramps up its NFT offerings

Anny Shaw