Published 2022-09-21

A Glimpse of NFT Show Europe

NFT Show Europe claims to become the leading European meeting point for digital art, NFT artists, collectors, and blockchain experts in the near future. Described as a multisensorial experience that mesmerizes the visitors with a world of experimental and interactive art.

From September 17th to 18th, 2022, the Spanish city of Valencia hosted many artists, developers, and collectors from our ecosystem to share their work, knowledge, and insights with the public.

Now, let's see what it was all about.

Flesh & Bones

If you are familiar with the tezos community and its artist, there exists no doubt you would have recognized the majority of art featured at the event. While its artist were wandering around having conversations and taking a look at the displays. But unlike art, artists were a challenge to recognize, as you would imagine with web3.

The event was a shock to many because for one of the few times, we got to see the community live, finally putting a face on many we have known for a while. Allowing us to get to know artists, developers, and collectors personally, which is not a frequent thing.

It seemed that everyone in the event was getting to know each other physically, although many interactions had happened before they met, which created the perfect atmosphere for everyone to let loose and enjoy the moment without any strings attached.

Art & Curation

Art was without a doubt the main focus of the event, featuring artist like @tz1gBXG9fg8RMDH69KfKqwoTH5sFDmzt5yzm, @tz1gVKxpEGC7QW1fZyEEMEW2kgJRbpgWLNpD @tz1eCX4smQ3LbxwDR3pqNoLQvNNKiHJtpwYz, Xerox, Luis Ponce, Heart You, @tz1N1vuWBsDtGMyj3No8NfeJdCBFu8v6gvSX, @tz1Kw8cEFuNLj21e5b42NBn1ANW7hupmbDbo, @tz1bmPatnVaBa8brRzQ15i4vWzcBtdwJAkbn, @tz1T5NfkdPfhkXzYx8akPkdznxSgU1Uf5jEG and many more.

No apes, no collections, and few crypto-bros were seen, which is frequently a rare occasion at NFT-related events, which I considered a fresh grasp of air within the space while being surrounded by talent, curiosity, and innovation. This initiative is what many artists and collectors have ever wished for and finally could be seen live, contributing a grain of sand into the mainstream thought, and negative propaganda NFT are frequently associated with.

The event also shared some displays where some established collectors got a chance to share their favorite pieces, such as @tz1gMfctX4hBNpkUoE7RcYPBhNc1hpHddqh4 and @tz1gMRKQWdhY5ZPUehpHofLswyL8Vexvfpbm. Showcasing the important role collectors play in the space.

Live Panels

Within the event, many artists were invited to expose their work to the public with panels featuring: @tz1PoDdN2oyRyF6DA73zTWAWYhNL4UGr3Egj, @tz1iZ9yHJzgvC4oBvHsrNmtL8GHPqtwqshAi, @tz2KDeWyeCeu2eZYLav9PrRAQmFCyESNF4Es,@tz1aB4WhspBPfLA6X4qSQPZCDKQkmmGobrCk, @tz1YHsinBJHMj1YFN7UrCsVAgTcaJCH86PjK @tz1hfuVWgcJ89ZE75ut9Qroi3y7GFJL5Lf2K and many others.

In @tz1gBXG9fg8RMDH69KfKqwoTH5sFDmzt5yzm panel, we got a glimpse into the broad work that goes within each mint, showing us iterations of different outputs based on different code structures. The project was later uploaded into the blockchain in a drop shortly after his appearance at the panel.

Within the Generative Art panel, @tz1UUSrrxHq647suLgAngWE481UTbzUonf9G asked a few questions about the creative process of each artist and their motivation. But as a market analyst, he also asked for their thoughts on the current state of the market, their opinion on the Tezos blockchain, and their plans moving forward.

Of which, many validated their trust for the Tezos blockchain and reaffirmed its vibrant community and ease of accessibility, although there were positive opinions relating to the recent Ethereum merge moving into a more sustainable energy consumption with PoS.

The all-female panel featured tools, motivations, and insights of their journey as GAN artists.

"Your voice as an artists, your experience and the motivation of what you're willing to express is what gives the value to AI art."

@tz1aLCW57GTwnmBNcrwWUR2y4YUEQAFGQYtU

These and many other conversations were seen in different stages, which helped broaden the public point of view and appreciate everything that goes into the daily work life of artists and developers.

Live Mints

The event implemented an initiative by its house platform@tz1fepn7jZsCYBqCDhpM63hzh9g2Ytqk4Tpv, which incorporated a live minting experience, which translated into a closer relationship between artist-collectors and provided a new motivation for attending the event.

These are the featured works:

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1173238"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1175261"}

::tezos-storage-pointer[]{contract="KT1U6EHmNxJTkvaWJ4ThczG4FSDaHC21ssvi" path="token_metadata::1170552"}

Local News!

Surprisingly, the event made it into local news, and even more surprisingly, the news was not bashing it like the media is so accustomed to doing, which is a success in our books!

A Step in the Right Direction

Although a relatively small community, compared to the big scale of the NFT ecosystem. The event managed to conglomerate crucial voices in order to deliver a glimpse of what can be done in the future. I would consider the occasion a great step in the right direction, bringing people together in the most organic way possible, and slowly changing the ecosystem narrative for the better. Promoting talented and passionate individuals sharing their creative works online for people all over the internet to appreciate them and their work.

While also showing yet another time that no matter how they try to keep the tezos ecosystem away from the mainstream, the community just keeps on thriving no matter how many false promises are thrown at them.

With that said, I would like to deliver a special thanks to@tz1aARx1r9qzScEmRXNxY5WpKzL6ebWrWjMD, @tz1gMRKQWdhY5ZPUehpHofLswyL8Vexvfpbmand the whole managing team for providing us with an experience that exceeded every expectation we had.

We look forward to attending the next edition in the near future.

@tz1VdEvYG8gRfDjnVgY3Pg62zBAL4FrS2SG8