CryptoPunks and other NFTs coming to France’s top art museum
France’s top modern art museum, the Centre Pompidou will be displaying non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a new exhibition opening this spring.
NFTs coming to France’s top modern art museum
Coming this spring, the exhibition will feature NFTs from over 16 digital artists worldwide, including popular collectables like CryptoPunk #110 and Autoglyph #25, both of which have been donated to the Centre Pompidou.
Xavier Rey, director of the French National Museum of Modern Art, said in a statement that the museum is “pursuing its interest in digital art, in connection with the blockchain”. He added that the collection of NFTs reaffirms the museum’s support for artists’ “conquest of new means of expression”.
Yuga Labs makes NFT exhibition possible
The Centre Pompidou’s NFT exhibition is expected to draw a lot of attention from both art enthusiasts and blockchain enthusiasts. It highlights the intersection of these two worlds and the possibilities of using blockchain technology in the art world.
The NFTs on display at the Centre Pompidou will be donated by Yuga Labs, the owner of the intellectual property (IP) of the CryptoPunks since March 2022. The company has a legacy project of donating Punks to leading art institutions worldwide, with CryptoPunk #305 already donated to the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.
According to Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano, seeing CryptoPunk #110 displayed in the Centre Pompidou is a “great moment for the web3 and NFT ecosystem” and the company is “honored to help drive this cultural conversation”.
This is just the latest in a series of non-profit initiatives from the NFT giant behind the Bored Apes Yacht Club (BAYC) and CryptoPunks collections, two giants in the competitive world of blockchain-based collectibles.
Centre Pompidou is bringing NFT to the mainstream art scene
The exhibition is set to open in the spring of 2023 and is sure to be a major cultural event. The museum is currently working on finalizing the details of the exhibition, and visitors can expect an exciting and innovative experience.
This marks the first time NFTs will be displayed at the internationally renowned Centre Pompidou, which is home to other notable artworks by Vassily Kandinsky, Frida Kahlo, and Henri Matisse. The exhibition highlights the intersection of art and blockchain, as NFTs are digital objects that hold unique features and are verifiable on the blockchain.
NFTs have gained popularity in the art world, music industry, and blockchain-based video games. Some NFTs have sold for millions of dollars in recent years. The Centre Pompidou’s exhibition is part of its continued interest in digital art. The museum has previously featured exhibitions on digital art, including an exhibition on artificial intelligence in 2018.
The Centre Pompidou was opened in 1977 and houses the first collection of modern art in Europe. The museum has over 100,000 works of art and welcomes over 3 million visitors per year.
The museum’s location in the heart of Paris has made it one of the most iconic landmarks of the city. The Centre Pompidou is known for its avant-garde architecture, with the building’s structural elements exposed on the exterior.
