HUG marketplace and Cozomo de’ Medici set to illuminate Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing
Tokyo’s globally recognized Shibuya Crossing, the world’s busiest pedestrian crossing, is about to be transformed into an avant-garde digital art display. This transformation is the brainchild of a collaboration between social marketplace HUG and Cozomo de’ Medici, the vanguard non-fungible token (NFT) collector rumored to be Snoop Dogg.
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Creations from six renowned artists will be on display
On September 6, HUG unveiled its alliance with the Cozomo de’ Medici Collection. The company opened a call for artists, inviting them to vie for the chance to showcase their art alongside six distinguished works from The Medici Collection, which includes pieces by Claire Silver, XCOPY, Sam Spratt, Dawnia Darkstone, Beeple, and Grant Yun.
From September 25-27, the public will have an unprecedented opportunity to participate in community voting. This will determine a shortlist of 50 artworks. The final six selections, decided upon by Cozomo de’ Medici, will then light up Shibuya Crossing’s eight digital billboards from October 9 to 15.
An estimated 2.5 million people traverse Shibuya Crossing daily, offering immense exposure to the selected digital artists. For those looking to have their work shine in Tokyo, the submission window on HUG’s website remains open from September 6 to 24.
HUG digital hub
HUG’s origins trace back to 2022, thanks to its founder, Randi Zuckerberg. It serves as a digital hub for over 4,000 artists from 85 nations. Central to its operation is a community-driven curation process that places a spotlight on diverse and often underrepresented creators.
The company’s trajectory took a significant upturn in April. A consortium of investors, including Web3 investment fund DIGITAL (spearheaded by Mark Daniel and Benjamin Milstein, also known as OhhShiny), OKX Ventures, and L’Oréal’s BOLD venture fund, funneled $5 million in seed funding into HUG. DIGITAL’s investment interests also extend to notable entities like Yuga Labs and Dapper Labs.
Uplifting the digital art community
In the words of Randi Zuckerberg:
“HUG’s mission is to help every single artist become an entrepreneur and make a living off their art. We have delivered life-changing opportunities to hundreds of artists, placing them in galleries globally through our Open Calls.”
The collaboration with a digital art luminary like Cozomo de’ Medici, according to Zuckerberg, is a testament to their commitment to offering digital artists unparalleled visibility and appreciation.
While this display is monumental, HUG has no intentions of slowing down. The company plans to birth the world’s inaugural community-curated store, dedicated to peddling tangible prints and digital treasures.
