The Patrons of the New Renaissance?

I went to my first art show in a couple of years last weekend in Seattle.

It was put on by Series 001; an artist-run space for artists and designers to showcase their work without the smugness and gate-keeping that unfortunately some metropolitan art spaces have become known for. They hosted this space in a building soon to be demolished, in the cast shadow of high risers that house thousands of tech workers and their companies. To host a blossoming of art in the midst of decay, a building with its lease on life expired by a forced rebirth; the idea of the space is art itself.

I wandered through the different rooms exploring abstract pieces of lime greens, strawberry reds, clay artifacts, groovy soft rugs, and live edge dining room tables. All stood in sharp contrast to the paper white concrete walls; walls that hid the scars and stains from nearly a century tending to the birth of different consumer goods.

All the art was for sale. And quite often I caught myself in the sticker shock of some of these pieces: A $1,500 painting the size of a sheet of paper, a $200 clay hand big enough to hold a dime, a $700 rug that I dare not step in. 

Those numbers are relatively minor when I think about the recent NFTs Art Tokens that I’ve bought. How often have I, unassumingly, spent .2 ETH (about $900) on a picture that I didn't love? And here I am, hand-wringing about a painting that is a bit more expensive—that I absolutely adore. 

This is the opportunity that Web3 presents not only for digital artists, but also artists that create physical art. 

On the latest installment of his newsletter, Monday Musings, David Perell pondered how a small uptick in patronage might fund the next Renaissance. Could it be that if we spend $150 million dollars collectively as a society we can reignite the essence of Florence at a global scale? Further, can this Renaissance be fueled by new platforms spurred on by Web3? I believe so. 

At the same time, the community has to have an early moment of reckoning if we want to get this right and become the patrons of the next Renaissance. 

By and large, when it comes to NFT projects, I believe that most of us are chasing alpha over beauty. And I’m not saying that this is a good/bad thing. But I think those that participate in this movement have to be honest about our intentions. If you are buying NFTs because you are treating them like a speculative asset class, fine. If you are buying profile picture projects (pfp) for access to the community, status, etc. That’s fine as well. But let’s be real about it. 

Yet, if you are in the movement to support the artists. Why not lean into it more? Are you buying art without the expectation of selling? How about finding a local artist that is producing physical art, and buying something from them (even better—commission a piece of art by them). If you want you can pay them in crypto, go ahead and bring them onboard, but act on your desire for patronage if that’s where your heart is.

This Web3 wave is still very young! There are plenty of charlatans, use cases that put the cart before the horse, and binary thinking. But if Web3 is a manifestation that we could build a world that supersedes the institutions of yesteryear to bring more prosperity for everyone, I’d argue that we have to start with being honest about our intentions, intentional about the spaces we build, lifting as we climb, and kind with those that disagree (and even troll). 

Let’s be the patrons of the next great Renaissance.