Culture Vault to bridge gap between art world and crypto community

A new player is joining the fast-growing NFT art scene, bound to interest art collectors and the crypto-curious alike. Culture Vault, launching 3 February, is a curated platform and creative agency presenting and selling high-quality NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and helping artists and cultural brands to navigate blockchain technology.

Purpose-built to bridge the gap between the traditional art world and the crypto community, the Culture Vault platform already boasts an impressive roster of local and international artists including Reko Rennie, Shantell Martin, Adam Briggs, Romance Was Born, Serwah Attafua, Bianca Beers, Stephen Ormandy, Mona Chalabi, Dan Hong, The Richard Bernstein Estate, Thea Anamara Perkins, Sebastian Leon, Fallen Fruit, Dylan Mooney, and The Huxleys.

Through Culture Vault, brands and institutions will be assisted to create, mint, sell and display NFTs spanning fine art to film, dance, graphic design, architecture, sculpture, and fashion on chain – helping them to drive revenue, and foster community engagement and connection in new ways.

The launch of the new web3 platform this week will be followed by a ‘phygital’ (physical-meets-digital) exhibition titled The Future is Phygital, to be presented at Sydney’s Verona Studios from March. Displaying a selection of NFTs created by 12 of Culture Vault’s founding artists on framed digital screens, the exhibition will allow guests to purchase NFTs through QR codes at the exhibition, while enjoying live music and performances.

The curatorial direction of the platform is led by Arts-Matter, an arts and cultural programming platform who has relationships with many of Australia’s leading cultural figures.

“The excitement around NFTs is undeniable, and over the last year we’ve seen an increasing number of artists and brands wanting to jump on the blockchain bandwagon,” said CEO and Co-Founder Michelle Grey. “We think Culture Vault has the unique ability to combine insider art-world knowledge and accessibility with a deep understanding of crypto technology and the D-gen community.”

Culture Vault Creative Director and Co-Founder Susan Armstrong commented: “What’s exciting about Culture Vault’s collection of NFTs is that many of our artists are offering physical and experiential assets in conjunction with their digital work.” Some NFTs will come with prints, paintings, sculptures and stickers, while others will offer purchasers unique experiences, bespoke commissioned artwork, 3D print files and physical sculptures.

“As an artist, I am always looking for new mediums to create work in and I feel this digital realm is not something to ignore,” said Reko Rennie, a Culture Vault featured artist. “Working with Culture Vault is a great opportunity to explore the endless possibilities within the digital world of the arts.”

The Future Is Phygital will be open to the public in March at Verona Studios, 17 Oxford St Paddington, Sydney from 10am-5pm. Works will be available for sale ranging from $250 (approx 0.05 ETH) to $250,000 (approx 50 ETH).

The Culture Vault platform will be live from 3 February 2022.

This article was originally published 1 February 2022.

Image: The Huxleys, Vulnicura. Giclee archival print, 63 x 94cm. Courtesy: the artists.

Featured thumbnail image: Detail of artwork by Fallen Fruit.