Jonathan Gomez
Contributor
An exhibit in Bushwick is giving local residents a look into how creative professionals can immediately begin using Cryptocurrency for their art, music, and philanthropy.
The Sndbox, which was founded by Michael Lee and Kirk Finkel, is a company designed to combine emerging blockchain applications with creative and entrepreneurial practices, hosted its first exhibition––The Crypto Renaissance––on Friday night at the 100 Bogart Street Gallery.
The show presents a series of global projects produced during The Sndbox’s four month incubator program, which displays how crypto-powered applications can be integrated into a community.
“Our hope is that people begin to see cryptocurrency as a resource that you can earn not just with a mining rig in a closet or through direct investment, but through great content and impactful ideas,” Finkel told Bushwick Daily.
Those who attended the exhibit were also introduced to Steem, a social Cryptocurrency earned through content creation, interaction and engagement on Blockchain. According to Lee, Sndbox’s Director of Operations, Steem allows members of the Blockchain to raise funds without having to spend any money or seek additional funding.
“All of the apps and projects that we’ve showcased here take those likes, hearts, and up votes we all know and treat them as a value metric for a real attention economy. Why can’t I trade in my hard-earned hearts on Instagram for value elsewhere? With cryptocurrencies like Steem, you can,” Finkel said.
One member of the Blockchain who used creative content to earn Steem is Doug Karr, a filmmaker and writer. His book ‘Dwelling’ was on display at the Exhibit. Karr was able to earn Steem from members by sharing different chapters of his book throughout the creative process, and eventually converted the Steem into Bitcoin, which he was then able to convert to dollars, giving him the ability to publish his book without spending his own money.
“I am a filmmaker, a writer and have been doing that for over 20 years, and I saw the potential of monetizing our artistic work through Steem, and I had been working on this book for ten years so when I got involved I really wanted to use the Blockchain to help make it a reality,” says Karr, who has also been able to fund a science-fiction tv show through the Steem Blockchain.
Other examples at the Cryptocurrency exhibit that depicted how creative content is able to come to life through Steem earnings were Steem Park––a full park development in Bedford Stuyvesant, completely funded by crowd-sourced Steem cryptocurrency––and Philly History––a graduate research seminar at Temple University which leveraged blockchain fundraising to crowd fund grants for The Wagner Free Institute.
Another project presented at the exhibit is Block Mountain, a collaborative and global music initiative published on the blockchain, coordinated by DJ Lethal Skillz.
Through a combination of article crowdsourcing and direct crypto-donations The Sndbox was able to raise close to $10,000 for the Cryptocurrency Renaissance exhibit itself, which elaborated how Steem Blockchain members can support one another.
The exhibit will be available for viewing until August 15, 2018.