Decentral Art Pavilion 2022
Spring 2022
AKQA Italy collaborated with The Decentral Art Pavilion to debut the Singularity exhibition during the 2022 Venice Art Biennale. Serving as the creative technologist for the project, I played a key role in shaping the exhibition’s communication strategy and executing on-site activation, drawing upon my expertise and enthusiasm for digital art and emerging technology.
The exhibition featured over 200 NFT works of art created by internationally influential artists shaping the NFT space. Crafted as the first-ever immersive exploration into the decentralized art movement, this parallel spectacle sought to weave a discourse between the legacy of traditional artistry, the vibrancy of digital art, and the embryonic promise of Web3.
AKQA Italy, as the media partner, assumed the responsibility of managing event communication, as well as spearheading the planning and execution of digital touchpoints, content development, and on-site activation.
Partnering with copywriters on the team, I was in charge of identifying and curating the content topics for the social media communication strategy, ranging from chronicling the past, present and future of digital art, deciphering NFT as a mechanism and a medium, to addressing misinformation as well as unraveling the concept of Web3.
I was also responsible for ideating for an on-site activation, aiming to propel the dialogue surrounding NFT and mainstream art and develop a wider understanding while tying in with the editorial plan and complementing the exhibition visiting experience.
The proposals I came up with include:
-resurrecting and embodying digital artwork’s “aura”, in the word of Walter Benjamin, via the means of on-site installation of light signage, projection mapping, etc
-exaggerating the unnecessity of traditional ways of proving the authenticity and provenance of artworks, via repetition, long-format pseudo/forged documents, or efforts and actions in vain
-emphasizing the permissionlessness of NFT artworks regardless of visiting hours, locations, or systems functioning or down, by having a signage up during off hours of the exhibition site that directs the public to view the artworks on display via other digital means
video mockup of the LED screen and video mapping
video mockup of the idea of permissionlessness, directing people to view artworks during closing hours
Ultimately, the activation idea of Daily Dose of Questions was greenlit, in which we would display speculation and controversy from the general public on the exhibtion site, internally or public facing, to propel dialogues with a self-questioning form of activism, reaffirming the artists’ and the exhition organzier’s stand and believe.
video mockup of Daily Dose of Questions
The concept subsequently underwent a pivot, shifting its focus to social platforms. The revised approach involves developing filters that showcase a consistent visual language and present questions of speculation and controversy in 3D. These filters are accessible to public through the official account @DecentralArtPavilion.
Daily Dose of Questions on Instagram
Media coverage:
Artibune: Una riflessione sugli NFT: il caso Decentral Art Pavilion a Venezia