EVENTS
UNBANNED
As a response to both my recent unemployment and the controversial banning of artists from specific nationalities by NFT marketplaces, I decided to continue my work under my own vision and values, giving a platform to these artists who had been unfairly banned from selling their art due to the countries they were born in.
I became a one-person agency, registered my own company, and developed a project that would bring an exhibition of over thirty artists from the Middle East, Africa, the Eurasia region, and Latin America, completely free for five days to the public of Manchester, UK.
I took responsibility for every aspect of this exhibition, from curation, layout visual style, event website development, ticketing, branding, social media management, to other aspects such as securing partnerships, sponsorship, and liaising with our venue staff.
I was able to secure £50,000 in sponsorship from the Dubai-based venture studio Bedu.io through one of its Bedu World products: 2117. I also secured a partnership venue with Canvas Manchester, as well as with JoynXYZ, which served as our hosting service for art submissions.
The Liverpool-based NFT Public Relations agency, joined Unbanned as a collaborator to host their monthly meet-up at one of our exhibition open days, bringing key figures such as Fitzy and Dr. Frances Liddell, together on a panel talk.
The opening party saw DJ sets by Manchester-based artist, Numan, and a live performance by acclaimed doodle artist, and owner of The Pals Universe, Sean Webster.
The focus of this exhibition was first and foremost to showcase the works by the emergent artists that had been unfairly banned because of their nationalities, but it also served as an opportunity to bring valuable insights to people unfamiliar with digital, or NFT art, as well as with Web3 technologies.
Staying open for five days gave the public the opportunity to visit at their own pace, and enjoy of the panel talk evenings. It was really nice seeing many students from the School of Digital Arts attending, and it will remain as one of the most fulfilling experiences in my career.
DIGITAL
NATIVES
This exhibition was the first big event that I had ever organised. It was also the first big project that I worked on for NFT marketplace KO, as part of a branding strategy that had as its main objective, bringing the digital art marketplace closer to its community of artists and Web3 professionals.
As a one night only party and exhibition, it featured established crypto artists such as XCOPY, as well as a cohort of emergent digital artists.
As well as working on the organisation, I curated this exhibition, secured sponsorship deals with Web3 businesses such as Wert.io, and Async Art, and secured a partnership with digital fashion retailer, DressX, for a surprise giveaway. Hands down a challenging, but very formative experience.
VIRTUAL EVENTS:
CULT COUTURE
As part of the first ever Metaverse Fashion Week, I organised and curated a digital fashion exhibition for KO's gallery on Decentraland.
Organising a metaverse event differs slightly from real life events, and it is much more heavily reliant on creative direction.
My vision of having fashion displayed across three different floors, a runway, live sets by Eclectic Method's cohort of DJs, and a rooftop pool, was then built by our in-house Metaverse Builder.
I promoted this event to the best of my abilities so that it could get featured on Vogue Business, and it became my first-ever metaverse event. The works of digital fashion designers Charli Cohen, James Mack, Nikolai Peretiatko, Soze, Midwest Misfit, and more, were featured at this event.
METABOREALIS
As part of the programme for Decentraland Art Week, a Venice Biennale-inspired metaverse art fair, I was the Creative Director and organiser of KO's installation.
Taking into consideration the context that the crypto/NFT world was living in 2022, with a devaluation of coins such as Ether, and Bitcoin, I had the idea of making this installation an artistic representation of the "Crypto Winter". One that promises hope at the end of it, which is embodied by the artworks of the many artists featured.
From frozen crystals, to an icy floor, to the striking artic green lights, all of this creative vision that I provided was once again built by our in-house Metaverse Builder.
It was important for me to have an interactive experience, something almost gamified, rather than having attendees' avatars just walking around the installation.
Following the concept of a crypto winter, I brought Midwest Misfit into the project and we commissioned him to create a DCL wearable - a digital jacket for attendees to claim through a gamified experience, in which they would find and collect coins across their visit of the installation, which would then allow them to claim their digital jacket to keep themselves warm during the harsh crypto winter. This was the last project that I worked on for KO, and I was able to get them featured in Vogue Singapore, which described it as "one of the most visually stunning immersive exhibitions" that were presented that year.
OTHER WORKS
I have organised/curated smaller exhibitions, brand activations and/or installations in London, Manchester, Miami and New York City. I have collaborated with different companies such as Decentraland, Boson Protocol, Manchester's Finest, LIFE, and The Graph. You can find a little glimpse of some of them in the images below, and find some more info by clicking on them.
I take a lot of pride in the work that I do, and the results that I bring. However, all of these experiences would not have been the same without all of the incredible people that I've met; from artists, to generalists, fashion designers, and entrepreneurs, to A/V suppliers, caterers, and DJs, you have all made my job one hell of a ride. Thank you for that!
