Tezos Foundation and Artist Misan Harriman Unveil First Works in Permanent Art Collection

First online gallery reflects Tezos’ global and diverse community

ZUG, Switzerland–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, the Tezos Foundation, which promotes development on the Tezos blockchain, and Misan Harriman, the world-renowned photographer and activist, announced the first presentation of the Tezos Foundation Permanent Art Collection to celebrate artists and creators in the Tezos ecosystem. These works will be on display in a Digital Art Gallery, to be revealed on June 16 on the Collection’s website for public viewing.

The initial presentation is just a fraction of the overall collection of over 2,000 works acquired between May 2022-2023 with a $1.2M USD endowment from the Tezos Foundation to Misan Harriman. Spearheaded by the Tezos Foundation and driven by Harriman, the initiative reflects the diversity of the digital art community in the Tezos ecosystem and showcases works by artists who span five continents and more than two dozen nationalities.

The first online gallery is separated into three rooms – Who We Are, What We Become, and Tracks of Existence – which highlight important themes around digital identity which emerged from research of the overall collection earlier this year. The works showcase themes of solitude and transcendence, with each piece reflecting the artists’ culture, environment, and individual experiences, exploring three intertwined levels of creative digital identity.

“It has been such a great honor curating the Permanent Art Collection for the Tezos Foundation,” said Harriman. “For me, I’ve wanted to see how inclusive the talent pool could be in a collection like this, and I’ve been endlessly amazed by the broad range of storytelling that I’ve seen across all mediums in the Contemporary Art Space. What makes this Permanent Art Collection so unique is that we have artists from Iran, from Argentina, from India, whom I believe would never have been seen, and they now know that their story, their point of view as creators, matters. To plant those seeds at the scale we have done is an extraordinary achievement and, for me, shows the world what blockchain technology, when married with intentionality and purpose, can do in actually changing people’s lives in a borderless world.”

The completion of this first chapter of the Tezos Foundation Permanent Art Collection allows for new perspectives to take hold on the expansive combination of digital artworks. From poetry and photography to generative art and digital sculpture, the collection allows viewers to interpret new themes on a more global, inclusive scale than most other traditional collections across the globe.

“The Tezos Foundation has always had a deep commitment to its community and to elevating the artists who want to share their work with the world,” said Arthur Breitman, co-founder of Tezos. “Misan Harriman’s expertise and creativity allowed us to honor their art in a first-of-its-kind format, and we’re excited to share these pieces with the public.”

Creators in the First Display of the Tezos Foundation Permanent Art Collection

• Amirhfallah – Twitter – Geo Portal, 2022
• Andreasrau X msoriaro – Twitter (andreasrau) Twitter (msoriaro) – Toccata #40, 2022
• Anibal_Ar13 – Twitter – Reading is the refuge, 2021, Disco Nights, 2021
• Bárbara Bezina – Twitter – Vacio Azulado, 2021
• Blessing Atas – Twitter – Lilac Wine, 2022
• Bomfha – Twitter – Supermarket Day, 2021
• Bumbletheb33 – Twitter – Midnight Sonder, 2022
• Caesuras – Twitter – CSRSNT-ZAAI-32-of-64.png, 2021
• Diane Drubay – Twitter – Ardens 1, 2021
• fdilekyurdakul – Twitter – Dusty Journey, 2022
• Gorkem Keser – Twitter – Lux Aeterna, 2022
• I am the Astra – Twitter – The Birth of Venus in Modern Times, 2022
• Juki – Twitter – Drifters, 2021, Dreaming an Apple Tree, 2021
• Karoline Georges – Twitter – Concordia, 2022
• Katya Kanke – Twitter – Lucy, 2016
• Kopfgestaltung – Twitter – It came from the dark, 2022
• La Delmas – Twitter – Nena Trampa N.7, 2021
• Manuel Michael – Twitter – Realm, 2022
• Natalie Shau – Twitter – figure 014, 2022
• Omentejovem – Twitter – UNTITLED, 2021
• Patrick Amadon – Twitter – Static Glitch 2014, 2021
• Sutu – Twitter – Artist Burden, 2022
• Tan-Tan – Twitter – House Made of Glass, 2021, East of Eden, 2022
• Thomas Lin Pedersen – Twitter – Genuary13, 2021
• Tomislav – Twitter – Encounter, 2021
• Violet Forest – Twitter – ♡ Just an AI girl ♡ 37, 2021
• Youngkevarts – Twitter – The Tempest, 2022
• Zancan – Twitter – Lushtemples — Mint, 2021

About The Tezos Foundation

The Tezos Foundation is a Swiss non-profit foundation that supports the development of the Tezos blockchain, an energy-efficient network leveraged by art institutions and artists worldwide for digital art and NFTs. The Foundation is committed to expanding opportunities for digital artists, providing affordable, sustainable, and accessible NFT infrastructure. Artists using Tezos encompass a global community – one that elevates digital artists in all geographies to share their art with the world. For more information, please visit www.tezos.foundation.

Contacts

Randall Woods

Senior Vice President, SBS Comms

tezos@sbscomms.com