Monday Town Hall to bring WADA, Cityverse together

When the online platform Cityverse debuts in 2023, every resident of St. Petersburg will have the opportunity to create his or her own Homespace (profile) to share their civic experience – in other words, to map out and populate their own online territory, talk and compare experiences as citizens of the local ‘verse.

The easy-to-use platform, according to Warehouse Arts District Association director Markus Gottschlich, will be part of “the coming web3 revolution.” WADA has established a partnership with Cityverse.

Artists will be among those with a niche “Createspace,” where they can create a free on-platform gallery to display their work, mint and sell non-fungible tokens (NFTs), connect with the community and leverage the attention built by Cityverse to reach more fans, patrons and collectors.

Artists are invited to a Town Hall meeting Monday (Cyber Monday) at the Tully Levine Gallery, on the ArtsXchange campus at 515 22nd Street South, to meet Cityverse head of network Joe Hamilton and find out how this ambitious new concept will help them move forward and deep into the future.

“Cityverse will bring valuable attention, connection and tools to local artists,” says Hamilton, who’s also the publisher of the St. Pete Catalyst.

At Monday ‘s event, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., “We’ll dive into all the ways Cityverse will support local artists and give them multiple ways to reach new people and earn a living,” Hamilton explains. “We’ll also touch on how we can leverage Cityverse to grow the overall art scene in St Petersburg.”

The evening will consist of an educational presentation on Blockchain technology, NFTs and a sneak preview of Cityverse’s functionality.  

WADA artist Carrie Jadus is creating a special painting in commemoration of this forward-looking partnership. This work will be divided digitally into squares, each one becoming a unique NFT. WADA members who attend and sign up for Cityverse will be gifted these exclusive NFTs. 

Says Hamilton: “NFTs represent digital rarity. The blockchain is like a permanent record for the world, and adding data about a piece including the art itself, creation and sale details and the ongoing lineage of the piece creates a permanent, immutable record of that art that can be transferred easily between parties.

“As NFTs are programmable, you can also do fun things like create series, as we are with WADA.”

“Among other benefits, technology increases accessibility, builds and connects communities,” adds Gottschlich. “I believe we are at the brink of a new era, just like during the times of introducing the camera, the typewriter, or the internet. “

The public is invited to Monday’s free event; register here.