Bitcoin, Beer, and Bitstories Recap: Artist Collective
Draper Startup House Manila discusses the motivations behind starting a web3 artist collective residencey.
One of the segments during the Bitcoin, Beer, and Bitstories last July 28 was with Draper Startup House Manila’s Cristian Munoz spearheading the Artist Collective to onboard local artists and showcase their art pieces as resident artists of the startup house.
With him in the panel are traditional and digital artists who have ventured into crypto art: Jopet Arias of Crypto Art Philippines, Khat De Guzman of FilipinasNFT, Francis Lim and Vandy Pesarillo of Likha.
How the artists started in Web3
Michael Mislos of BitPinas moderated the talk on how the panelists started digging into the rabbit hole of web3.
Jopet started his journey in late 2020 when he had no idea what crypto art or NFT really were. His motivation was to raise funds for the victims of the typhoon during that time. Crypto Art Philippines is to help Filipino artists to be onboarded into the Space and mentor them.
Khat shared how Filipinas NFT started with an invitation for having a group chat for Filipinas who are into art last February. In the process, creating a movement to empower women in Web3 dubbed as Abante Babae [loosely translated as Woman, Go Forward].
Francis is a traditional artist who creates his pieces using watercolor and is now exploring innovations with art, especially with artificial intelligence. NFT gave him the opportunity to grow as an artist.
Van started his NFT journey around July and helped create Likha to help talented artists in their journey in web3.
What is the Artist Collective
According to Cristian, he started the Artist Collective so that the artists – local and internationally – can meet together like entrepreneurs and founders do. This is a safe room for local and international artists to collaborate with one another and share their ideas. It will also be a way to talk about topics like art ownership and creation. It also aims to address the challenges faced by NFT artists and look for ways to address those issues.
The Challenges of Artists
Speaking of challenges or obstacles faced by artists in web3:
“The Filipino art spaces are the same with web3. Artists need to be exposed to the proper audience and collectors to see their work,” Jopet said, stating the need for a curated platform for them to be really pushed to the boundaries of their creativity.
Khat shared their experiences with FilipinasNFT, “Most of the challenge is the education part of it. There are a lot of female artists interested in minting their art as an NFT. They just do not know where to begin. They feel very overwhelmed in the space. Real talk, the web3 sometimes is very musculine, I would say”. Filipinas NFT is helping out female artists overcome the feeling of intimidation and assist them in their journey.
Francis shared his challenges as a traditional artist who needed the right place to market his artwork especially on social media like Facebook. Most of the NFT marketplaces are congested and artists are not being assisted on this matter.
Van also shared that marketing is also a factor and Likha is created to help artists in this area.
Cristian also shared his point-of-view as a founder and entrepreneur that the challenges artists face resonates with him as he starts his business. This is the reason he initiated the Artist Collective to help resolve challenges that artists are going through and Draper is willing to help artists out.
Meta Manila
With the question about the concept of Meta-Manila, each panelist gave their thoughts on this. Collectively, all are into building the community and helping onboard the Filipinos into the Web3.
“Meta Manila brings the connection to the masses,” Jopet stated. He added that this will bring Filipinos into a process of learning how to manage their own finances and learn to transact in the space. This could be a new era for humanity.
Khat mentioned that this will be a connection to the people by educating them about blockchain technology.
For Francis, “Web3 will change the way of living in Manila, especially small-time artists like me, who are given the opportunity and exposure to connect with local and international collectors”.
For Cristian, this is a good opportunity to collaborate with other artists and companies and build networks to build in the technology.
The Future of Web3
When asked about what they see about the future of the Philippines and Web3 in three to five years, Cristian sees the adaptation of Filipinos in the technology can be an inspiration to companies to enter the space. Comparing the Philippines to El Salvador, he can see the potential in the Filipino to innovate in the technology which can help companies in the future be onboarded into web3.
The artists will continue growing in web3 and help onboard other artists into the industry to help them in their journey. Francis will continue to explore the technology behind augmented reality (AR) and apply it on his artwork. FilipinasNFT will continue to champion other artists in the space. Jopet shared his dream for the Filipino culture and art to stand out in the international market and each Filipino will champion the artists in the country.
Closing Thoughts
The Artist Collective: Meta Manila of Draper Startup House Manila is a good initiative to help out not just local artists but also international artists in their network. Seeing the need to support the NFT community is beneficial to entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, artists, and collectors. The community will learn to appreciate each other and empower one another to grow in web3. This can also be a means to preserve Filipino culture and identity through NFTs.
This article is published on BitPinas: Bitcoin, Beer, and Bitstories Recap: Artist Collective
Disclaimer: BitPinas articles and its external content are not financial advice. The team serves to deliver independent, unbiased news to provide information for Philippine-crypto and beyond.
