The NFT Museum Discovery

Reflecting on 2022, I had an incredible experience with NFTs that changed my views on digital art and what it means to experience it. This led me to understand how we consume art and how that can be a significant part of the overall experience.

It started with me looking at a map of downtown Seattle to try and see what cool restaurants might be close to my hotel while I spent a few days taking in a Microsoft conference. While searching the map, I found the Seattle NFT Museum as a point of interest. Immediately I had to know more, and I began looking through what information I could to get more of an idea of what this place offers.

Initially, my journey would be mostly out of curiosity to see what I can find out about what an NFT museum is and ultimately see if the in-person experience matters. In this article, I’ll go through some of my thoughts on the visit and provide some of my thoughts.

The NFT Gallery

The museum does not engage in the sale of NFTs, but most of the space is dedicated to viewing NFTs on large digital screens. If you haven’t experienced it in person, you might write off the experience. I do believe there is a significant difference between looking up an NFT in your browser and being in a gallery where it is prominently displayed on full screen.

I believe we still need real-life experiences that tie into the NFT world for the art to be truly appreciated. Some people are buying digital displays and software to display NFTs full screen at home or for pop-up galleries. Despite being early technology, I see the potential for more and more art to be showcased digitally using NFTs and in-person events.

Also, what complemented the experience was to have staff talk in-person about some of the NFTs on display or NFTs in general. Yes, I should expect those things, but not many people in my local social circle speak crypto in any depth. Going to the museum and talking with other people about this niche interest helps keep the energy and enthusiasm up and helps keep the interest with everything on display.

The selection of NFTs is primarily art-oriented, and different themes take place. For example, when I showed up, fashion was the theme. Check the website for updates if you want to be a frequent visitor.

NFTs were featured in various digital frames and from different artists. QR codes were on display so you could look up the original artwork. With my smartphone, I could bridge the digital marketplace with the asset on display, giving me a profound experience with NFT technology.

I don’t know the entire business model for the gallery, but it is run on donations, private events, admission fees, and an online merchandise store. I’m hoping this is sustainable as I would like to see this ecosystem of in-person venues expand to bridge the gap between digital culture and the people that are a part of it.

NFT History

A small section goes over blockchains and primarily Ethereum, as that is the home to the vast majority of NFTs out there. This is helpful to understand the backend to NFT infrastructure and, of course, the switch to Proof of Stake, slashing 99.5% of Ethereum’s energy usage.

There was a proof of work minter and a proof of stake node to illustrate the differences visually, with hardware on display and accompanying information on the wall. From an information technology background, it was fun to see different hardware on display to help put Ethereum changes in more context.

Infrastructure

Depending on your city, having a digital exhibition is more accessible than others. I say this because, in my hometown, I am not aware of any digital galleries or even some digital signage to rent for an event.

Am I going to invest in digital signage? Probably not. This is a technical investment I believe a gallery needs to make to get maximum usage out of it, considering the cost.

Most likely, I’ll start seeing more options with conference rentals as I expect digital display rentals to be more of a thing. NFT-specific ones are currently a niche and difficult to come by but there are software options to turn regular displays into NFT displays using external hardware.

Most TVs have an Android computer embedded in them. To me, the real sign of adoption will be when consumer TVs have NFT features built-in making them more desirable to collect and use. NFT displays will still exist, but most homes already have smart televisions.

I believe that we will eventually modernize with more galleries catering to digital art, but who will be the players behind these spaces?

From a Web 3.0 perspective having a community own and govern an NFT museum would be ideal but doing business requires a corporation or non-profit, and those entities require regulation, primarily the non-profit. To make it more confusing, if there was a decentralized autonomous organization behind the community, can it legally integrate with a non-profit or corporation?

I believe there is still too much uncertainty in my jurisdiction, so I expect more conventional entities run a gallery if they get on board with displaying NFT art. But it will come down to an investment in digital displays at a minimum and much more if a new gallery were to launch.

Conclusion

The one thing I am sure about is how my visit to the Seattle NFT Museum changed my opinions on digital art and real-life experiences. I don’t want to seem cliche or look like some silly futurist, but I see value in what is happening there and how it will likely expand to be a more accessible experience in cities worldwide.

For NFT to be a standard in artwork, it has to be more than a trading mechanism, and there need to be places where ordinary people can experience NFTs with sound guidance. Visitors sometimes go to the NFT museum expecting a laugh, and then they realize there is an actual industry of artists and computer and hardware engineers building in this space.

It’s still very early for this technology, but as you can see, hurdles go beyond onboarding new crypto users to purchase NFTs. Having places to enjoy them is just as important.

Despite the digitization of our world, we need to recognize our tribal roots and understand the importance of meeting in person and having dialogue around new ideas to normalize them into our culture. To bring in more adoption, we need to bring art and technology to the people, and the museum is the venue I believe will generate enormous value for the NFT community.

To end my journey, I bought a small sticker to remind me of the trip, and the otters reminded me of the community I thought was fitting.

I hope to see more digital art in physical spaces as time passes, but if you happen to be in Seattle, I’d say it is a good use of time to swing by, regardless of your background. Remember to keep galleries in mind when supporting the community, as they are critical to adopting NFT art.