On March 23, 2023, the city of Medellín hosted MERCADONFT, an event which is aimed to showcase and sell digital art through non-fungible tokens or NFTs. Three enthusiasts from the world of art and technology, Jacobo Blandón, Bloque79, and Moncrear, joined forces to create this exciting event.
Jacobo Blandón, a developer and visual artist, has spent over a decade experimenting with 2D and 3D assets, combining code with different forms of image and 3D file manipulation, parametric design, performance, augmented reality, NFTs, programming, and web applications. He explored various tools that allow different programming languages to be applied in art, technology, and industry.
Bloque79, led by Juan Esteban Giraldo, is a community that seeks to support and promote the use of blockchain technology, including cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and smart contracts. The community focuses on artists and artistic collectives, enabling them to have visibility and mobility in the digital world.
Moncrear, led by Daniela Monclou, is a social enterprise that supports artists and creatives in showcasing their art through various products focused on design, art, and photography. They also engage in promotional activities, training, and connection, such as organizing events related to art, culture, technology, and creativity.
The goal of MERCADONFT was to introduce various artists who have ventured into this new world. These artists have experience in the physical world and have brought their art to the virtual world for greater exposure and recognition. With the support of HashHouse, in the physical space and Neaverso in a metaverse runing in Spatial.io, we created a friendly and different space for everyone.
The participating artists included painters, photographers, architects, designers, illustrators, and more. We planned each stage of the project and made a call for artists who have experience in art and NFTs. Many people were interested in this world, and we wanted to introduce more people to the world of digital art, and we did:
+150 in-person attendees
+50 attendees via streaming
From the beginning of the event, people could interact through the Oculus glasses with the immersion in the metaverses created by Jacobo Blandón with his works and the experience of walking and interacting in the space of the Neaverso.
There were also interesting talks related to the crypto world:
NFTips by Ximena Monclou, which had a brief description of blockchain technology and NFTs and their relationship with taxes.
Green Digital Guardians, by Juan José Giraldo, which explained how we can contribute, through the acquisition of their NFTs, to the conservation of the planet with the care and protection of lands.
Josephine LF from the Cartagena Film Festival FICCI, who discussed her documentary Soy Cris de Tierra Bomba, the first high-level production to use NFTs as part of its sponsorship and dissemination.
Jacobo Blandón also presented the project Rarity Green Vault, which seeks to raise awareness of flora and how it can interact with NFTs by selecting the names of newly discovered species.
There was also space for Coomunarte: Cooperative collective of artists of the common, which was created by artists who signed the peace agreement in various territories of Colombia. They created this multi-activity cooperative inspired by peacebuilding through artistic education.
Some members of the Neaverso made a digital performance by painting virtual graffiti live for all attendees. The Neaverso, a metaverse developed in spatial.io of cutting-edge urban art, could also be enjoyed through immersion with Oculus glasses by attendees. Special thanks to @laplagainvade, @maniatic.eth, @ex_acto, @criptoheads and @gatobanton.
The presentation of the artists and their art was also a special moment, where some of the artists could make a mini-presentation about their art and what inspired them to work on it. Here is a brief description of the #criptoartists from their point of view mixed with ours:
Jackiesieras: Audiovisual communicator and multidisciplinary artist who represents energy, beauty, love, talent, and a lot of technological creativity.
Maniatic: Neighborhood publicist, cultural agitator, and promoter of #BRANDalism. Founding member of @Neaverso.
Naopiart / Nataly Ortegón: Artist, photographer, nature lover, and activist for body diversity @Lagordafest.
Javier Cruz: Master of fine arts, pioneer of video art and digital art in Colombia, and good conversationalist.
Ronald Velásquez: Cuban plastic artist, now very paisa, a lover of nature with his landscapes superimposed on common objects in the surrealist style.
Luko: Plastic and digital artist of the street art movement #StreetArt, with the philosophy of the art of living.
Ratru / Rafael Trujillo: Publicist, innate artist, and enthusiast of new technologies. Creator of the coolest and scariest zombies in blockchain.
Bray / Brayan Castillo: Interdisciplinary artist, industrial designer, and professional photographer. His works are a mix of fantastic, dreamlike, sinister worlds with a fusion of disruptive technologies. @NoxDarkGallery.
0Vixvox6: Young and very creative artist in constant exploration of digital art with passions from other dimensions.
Ratica Pintriz / Ana María Montoya: Plastic artist and cultural manager who, through her works and manual crafts, awakens consciousness and makes us reflect on the power of gratitude and the beauty of life.
Gabriel Jaime Correa: Plastic artist and cultural manager who loves territories, folklore, cultural heritage, and identity.
Ex_Acto / Bryan López: Multidisciplinary and integral artist whose colorful digital works make us vibrate high, with influences from ancient pictographs, tribal art, and popular media culture.
Neotropic / Diana Rueda: Architect dedicated to art through painting, digital design, conceptualization, and previsualization of projects in the #Muralism movement.
Estrujamentes / María Páramo: Psychologist, philosopher, illustrator, and digital artist who wants to create meaning without the need for a rational argument through digital collage as a pictorial technique and prose poetry as a reflective script.
El Mara / Juan David Henao: Artist, painter, and muralist who represents beautiful urban landscapes with their own light.
El Tijeratazo / Juan Santiago Uribe: Artist and creative person who, through his works based on collages, creates visual diaries of places and moments that make us remember and reflect.
El IOU: Versatile artist who combines traditional art with digital art to show us, from his own perspective of other dimensions, his vision of the world inspired by the effects and culture of cannabis.
Artes Trasumhantes / Lina Patiño: Visual artist, publicist, and Master of Arts with high social vocation. Her works are identity, history, ethnicities, peoples, communities, nature, transformation, and peace. Member of the @Coomunarte collective.
Kelly Posky / Kelly Velásquez: Digital artist who, through photography, animation, collages, and more, questions real issues through fiction, using metaphors, dreamlike universes, and nature.
La Plaga Invade: Visual artist whose roots are in graffiti, through which she developed a personal style that is acidic and colorful, which she now expands through different media such as clothing, video, and the digital universe. Founding member of @Neaverso.
Limbo_Mask: Crypto artist whose mysterious characters, full of color and chaos, make his works pieces worthy of collection #ChaoticArt.
Gato Banton / Rex Bantron: Promoter of the graffiti culture in Mexico City. Member of @Neaverso.
Josephine LF: Film director, screenwriter, and gender equity activist.
Jacobo Blandón: Developer and visual artist, curious about artistic manifestations mixed with the use of different technologies.
There were two DJs who performed a whole show with their music. C0d1g0F4t4l did his visual performance while programming his music through codes, and Eimy Testa, with her House music, in tune with the event's location, showed all her talent to raise the temperature of the attendees.
Oh, and that's not all. We were also able to make a telepresence connection with BitBasel, an NFT gallery in Wynwood, Miami an showcase a Ford Fiesta ST55 MKT1.6 Turbo MT car at the entrance of the venue, this car was the representation of Warstreet55, a collection which uses NFTs in its marketing campaign to live its comfort and speed experience.
MERCADONFT was a fascinating event that brought together art and technology, showcasing the vast potential of NFTs in the world of digital art. The event provided a unique opportunity for artists and enthusiasts to connect, learn, and showcase their work. We hope to see more events like this in the future, as we continue to explore the ever-evolving world of digital art.
Here are some videos taken the past 23 of March in MercadoNFT:
Mercado NFT - Explicación del Neaverso con Maniatic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meWD9zLORoY
Montaje Neaverso Mercado NFT 2023: https://youtu.be/b3NndRjFmRI
Mercado NFT - Juan Henao (@juanhenaoroldan) y Diana Rueda (@neotropic): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgD8KYoqDQ
Mercado NFT - c0d1g0f4t4l: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCv3eKgwfnk
Mercado NFT - Nataly O. (@naopiart) y su obra con AR : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-6tUd2TflE
You can find all the information in https://www.mercadonft.com.co/