ArtUp - Vol. 4

Women in genArt generally, and on fx(hash) particularly, are certainly not the only marginalized group. This story is focused on women because we have been the subject of a very instructive few days of community interaction. The case is illustrative of a wider problem, and can easily be extrapolated to other groups.

A discussion began a few days ago in the women-in-genart channel of the fx(hash) discord server. It started with a tweet from Melissa Wiederrecht pointing out that the new stats implementation made the gender gap on the platform even more apparent. A lively exchange ensued about how to narrow and close that gap, and how we could better promote and support female artists. Discord member and author of fxfeed, @Louis, volunteered to build a page on the site providing a directory of women artists with work on fx(hash). The community responded with enthusiasm and we began adding artists to the list. Louis expanded the directory to include a submission form that women could use to ask to be added to the directory. As I write this, there are 97 names on the list. I am both delighted that the directory now exists, and dismayed by its shortness. Louis' fxfeed indexer puts the number of unique accounts that have published an fx(hash) project since fx(hash) 1.0 at 2,548 (the number is calculated from fx(hash)'s issuer contract published 16th april 2022, finding all of the unique addresses that have called that contract). Using this figure as a base, female artists stand at less than 4% of the creators on the platform. I have heard an estimate of 8% for ArtBlocks. Dismal.

In looking at marginalized groups from the perspective of a desire for a wide, inclusive, and diverse community, there are a few questions we must ask. How do we encourage participation. from members of marginalized groups? How do we successfully on board those who do participate? How do we ensure that their work is seen? How do we make them feel safe and welcome? How do we encourage critical evaluation and valuation of art that is free of bias? The issues are challenging and progress requires the commitment of the entire community. As I have mulled these questions, I have come up with some ideas.

First and foremost, I have made a personal commitment to buy at least one work of art from every artist on the list. I am about half way through at this point. We all need, to the greatest degree that our personal circumstances allow, to put our wallets where our mouths are. We collect for all kinds of reasons: as an investment, to hold work that speaks to us, to join in the fun of community participation. I have always included lifting up my fellow artists on that list, but I am re-committing in a deeper way.

I am also going to stop mindlessly re-tweeting. I am going to slow down and quote tweet with intention, using my words to actively promote fellow artists. I am also going to step up my efforts to promote others within the discord channels. To aid in these commitments, I am now actively using fxfeed to follow every artist in the new directory. I encourage you to use the tool to follow them as well. Follow me and see what I am collecting. Perhaps you will find some new favorites.

While the ideas are still in the infant stage, I am thinking hard about issues of mentorship and education and other ways of removing barriers to participation. More on this as my ideas take concrete form.

Please join the effort. Let's not let the world of Web3 go the way of the traditional art market. Be the change. Adopt one or more of these suggestions. Offer suggestions of your own. Let's make our genArt home the best it can be.