A ‘better way’ to transfer digital ownership

This week marks the grand return of Art Basel Miami Beach, an annual in-person art fair as traditional as art transacting gets. But with the newfound presence of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), the digital and the physical art are converging, solidifying the impact of the move towards blockchain technology.

For the first time in art market history, art viewers will interact on a large scale with NFT artwork. NFT pieces are digital files created with a blockchain — the same technology used for bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. This effort offers a new take on innovation, to the delight of the elite establishment. NFT art collectors rarely move into more tangible art buying, but tangible art buyers are coming in droves to the digital space, ushering in an increasingly virtual art world.

Christie’s is inviting a select group of VIPs to an event at an undisclosed 23,000 square foot Miami bank building called “The Gateway,” turning each room into an artistic wonderland for 34 NFT artists. They are partnering with six-month-old startup nft now and the peer-to-peer marketplace OpenSea for the exclusive, invite-only event.

While Christie’s builds the walls, Aorist hopes to break them down. On Tuesday, the interdisciplinary art initiative Aorist will open “Crossroads” in the swanky Faena district of Miami Beach. Founding digital art patron Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile spearheaded Aorist along with co-founder Andrea Bonaceto after years of being, in his words, “fully devoted to the blockchain space.”

The rest of the world finally caught on to the potential of NFTs in March, when the digital artist Beeple sold a 10-second NFT video for a whopping $69 million. The concept of digital artwork has had particular appeal during the pandemic, as it’s unfettered by the conventions of three-dimensional viewing or traditional sales methods.

“NFTs are really nothing,” Pablo Rodriguez-Fraile explains. “…They’re just a better way we have to transfer digital ownership, even transact with digital ownership in general, but they don’t have any actual value. What’s interesting here is that they do allow for this amazing community building, for this interplay between the different projects. You can bring these into the virtual world, into your Metaverse, into your digital creations, and it’s very easy to be part of the community through just showcasing the NFTs you have in that collection.”

With “Crossroads,” Rodriguez-Fraile has partnered with Ximena Caminos to transform Faena into a cross-disciplinary world of high art and cutting-edge technology during Miami Art Week. Forty “tangible, somewhat tangible, and non-tangible” works will be sold in a tiered system of digital and physical art at corresponding price points.