The Tezos Foundation, We Are Museums, and TZ Connect have announced their 12-museum cohort for the Web3 for the Arts and Culture (WAC) fellowship program. Launched on January 26, WAC aims to teach museums how to utilize the blockchain, NFTs, and other products of decentralized Web 3.0.
Twelve institutions, including the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the House of Electronic Arts, Basel (HeK), and the Royal College of Art in London, recently announced that they would join the fellowship, learning to utilize blockchain technology to preserve and promote cultural heritage, for social good, environmental justice, and financial stability.
The programme will also explore the use of blockchain in the cultural sector, as well as its legal and social implications and its intersection with the video game world, covering Web 3.0 communication and community building and providing hands-on experience in DIY blockchain development. A team from the French Ministry of Culture will spearhead a special research track focused on the permanence of artistic royalties through smart contracts.
WAC views Web3 as offering a new world of challenges and opportunities to arts institutions navigating social, environmental, and economic flux.
This is the second cohort of the WAC. In the first, Light Art Space (LAS) Foundation created the exhibition “Life After BOB” by Ian Cheng (Berghain Halle, Berlin). Using prototypes built during the WAC Hackathon, visitors were engaged through an on-site interaction with the blockchain. TZ Connect provided support to bring the idea to life, with LAS and Cheng’s teams working to create a live mint within the visitor experience.
The current cohort is currently live until June 2023. The next call for applicants will open in August 2023.
Learn more about WAC Lab here.
What They Said
“For us, the WAC Fellowship comes at the right moment, as this year our programme is focused on blockchain technologies. This is a fantastic opportunity for our institution. This year we’re planning to establish a DAO and through that build a blockchain-based circle of friends. We’re excited to be part of the fellowship and look forward to what we’ll learn over the course of the fellowship.”
— Sabine Himmelsbach, director of House of Electronic Arts, Basel
“Our goal is to work with these institutions to explore how they can use blockchain technology in innovative ways to achieve their goals and build a sustainable future.”
— Diane Drubay, founder of WAC Lab
