Project name
Women’s History Month Exhibition
Description (Brief intro of your project in 1-2 sentences)
After the success of our first show “Paradise”, we’re back with our second annual Women’s History month exhibition. This time in 2 countries.
Vision
An annual art exhibition and panel showcasing and uplifting art by Black women in web3 in order to create equity and exemplify to new artists that it’s possible for someone from a marginalized community to leave their mark on the blockchain.
Problem
Within web3, there continues to be a clear disparity in the sales made by men versus women. Women accounted for only 5% of NFT sales made between Feb. 2020-Nov. 2021 (Bloomberg). Similarly, the research firm, ArtTactic found that women comprised merely 16% of the NFT art market in their 2021 report.
Solution/Product
An organization dedicated to creating opportunities in order to create equity in web3 for Black women and teaching/onboarding women into crypto and defi, in order to gain financial freedom.
Describe the project in detail including…
How does the project relate to blockchain or web3?
How are you encouraging other women/minorities to be part of your community?
This will be our second annual women’s exhibition; our first as the “After Paradise” organization–and will take place over the course of one week in London, England and one week in Lagos, Nigeria. We will showcase the work of Black women from Africa and the diaspora so as to amplify their art, create equity in web3, and encourage emerging artists to participate in the blockchain. In addition to the exhibition, we will have a panel of women in web3 educating guests on their area of expertise in web3, in order to onboard more women into crypto and defi. Every year, we will seek to expand to a new location, with a different curator, and hope to become the go-to event that aims to uplift various forms of artistic expression and platform Black women’s voices in the space.
Validation / Traction / Progress so far
We successfully had the event last year, which resulted in 8.3 eth total sales and was featured on CNN
https://paradise.artiva.app/, https://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2022/06/14/africa-nft-pioneers-spc-intl.cnn
We have locations selected and are actively in contact with potential sponsors for the event.
Team
Share a brief description of the project’s team members (person by person)
After Paradise was founded by Nigerian-American multidisciplinary artist and curator, Abieyuwa Eigbobo. Known for her experimentation with technology, Abieyuwa uses her art to explore the experience of being a Black woman in contemporary society. She works with a variety of applications and media including, but not limited to, photography, digital and analog video, and 3D modeling. Abieyuwa recently curated the “Paradise” exhibition, an exhibition featuring 22 Black women in celebration of Women’s History Month. The show was featured on the CNN International segment, “Inside Africa" and took place at imnnotArt Gallery in Chicago. Abieyuwa is a member of Cyberbaat DAO, Accelerate Art, Friends With Benefits and part of the operations team for the African NFT Community.
In addition to being the social media manager for After Paradise, Mpho Jacobs is a painter and digital artist from South Africa. She began pursuing art as a practice in 2017 and in 2021, expanded into digital art. Mpho’s artworks utilize realism with symbolic motifs to show her emotional experiences and amplify subjects that she grew up not seeing regularly within art, namely black people. Mpho has participated in several exhibitions including a show at the Creative Arts College: Art in the Park exhibition (May 2019) and the Tatham Art Gallery Matric Exhibition (May 2021) in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Mpho was also part of the PUNKISM exhibition curated by IHAM NFT Gallery in Paris, France (April, 2022) and the digital residency for the 1MA Collective titled, “Forging the Future” in Dakar, Senegal (June, 2022). Recently, Mpho’s work was curated by the African NFT Community as a featured artist for NFT Now’s “The Gateway” exhibition during Art Basel Miami (November, 2022).
Ayesha Kazim (b. 1999) is a photographer and digital artist working between New York
City, Cape Town, & London. Within her practice, she utilizes analog and digital mediums, AI, and collage techniques to create work that explores portraiture through an intimate, otherworldly lens. Ayesha’s work has been featured in the New York Times and W Magazine, and she has worked with companies including Airbnb, Dior, and Adobe.
Ayesha’s role within the African NFT Community involves curating shows, onboarding artists, and assisting in the development of the DAO’s goals and responsibilities. Ayesha also works with other communities within the web3 space including Cyber Baat and ObscuraDAO. She has had the opportunity to curate shows in Miami and Dubai and possesses experience related to archiving, project management, and creative production.
Grant Amount Requested
Amount in USD
$5,000
What it will be used for?
Please provide a specific line item budget to show how you will use the funds.
Speaker Engagement Fee - $2,800
- 8 panelists (4 per location; $350/speaker)
Minting + Listing Fees - $1,000
The money will go toward paying the women that will speak at our events and also to cover the minting fees of the women in the exhibition. Remaining funds will be securely kept in our designated repository for future initiatives.
Attach any additional documents/resources about the project if you have any.
Please enable public view access if it’s currently on a private drive
How did you hear about MGD’s Funding program?
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