4 - Alejandro Cartagena: building the NFT photography space from the ground up

In this final episode of the RAW Review, Matthew and Brileigh are joined by Akosua Viktoria Adu-Sanyah, also know as Ava Silvery. Akosua is an internationally exhibited and published German-Ghanaian visual artist currently based in Zürich, Switzerland. Works from her project Behold The Ocean have been collected by RAW DAO and she is also a member of CyberbaatDAO. We cover a lot of ground in this episode: our reflections on the arts education system and what it didn’t prepare us for, her father’s background as a software engineer and how it led her to blockchain technology, the promises and shortcomings of web3 and NFTs as a model for sustainably funding artists… and even horse girls. Topics Discussed: Düsseldorf Academy The pitfalls of art school Horse Girls and Heartland Behold the Ocean RAW DAO The promise of web3 Blindness as a disability The spectrum of decentralization in DAOs New models for funding artists CyberbaatDAO MirrorDAO Chapters: 00:01:32 Ava discovering photography 00:04:00 Ava’s experience studying art in Germany 00:05:59 Reflecting on the experience of formal arts education 00:07:00 The disconnect between artists and profs + making ends meet after graduation 00:12:05 Living in Switzerland and Horse Girls 00:16:40 Behold the Ocean 00:19:27 The success of typologies in NFT photography 00:22:25 Expectations for selling out collections in the space and 00:23:45 Ava’s dad telling her about web3 before she knew what web2 was 00:27:09 Being open to new forms of technology, blindness & parallels between Ava & Brileigh 00:33:02 Crowdfunding Behold the Ocean vs relying on grants 00:39:20 Is web3 fulfilling its promise? 00:45:14 What is CyberbaatDAO 00:48:24 Traditional organization models vs DAOs 00:53:03 DAO is a sexy word and the spectrum of decentralization 00:57:56 DAOs raising the bar for what people working in the arts should be compensated for vs traditonal workplace models 01:00:00 Universal basic income 01:03:02 What are we trying to achieve with NFT photography 01:04:00 Projects in the pipeline for Ava Follow Akosua on Twitter: @AvaSilvery Behold the Ocean website: beholdtheocean.com RAW DAO website: www.rawdao.xyz Follow RAW on Twitter: @therawdao Join RAW DAO Discord: discord.gg/rawdao Follow Matthew on Twitter @0xmatthewb Follow Brileigh on Twitter: @0xbrileigh Hosts: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Production: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Engineering: Matthew Brooks Music: Sam Cronenberg Cover art: Sam Cronenberg

In this episode, Matthew and Brileigh are joined by Alejandro Cartagena, founding member of RAW DAO as well as the co-founder of Obscura and Fellowship Trust. Alejandro shares his story of becoming a photographer and paving the way for other artists through Fellowship and Obscura. We also discuss the Magnum Photos 75th anniversary NFT collection which he curated and five pieces of which were recently acquired by RAW DAO. As one of the most active members of the NFT photography community, Alejandro has lots to share about onboarding traditional artists to the NFT space, developing new models to sustainably fund artists, and his advice for new photographers trying to find success in the space. Topics Discussed: Alejandro's story of discovering photography and becoming a successful artist Building community with Fellowship and Obscura Developing sustainable funding models for artists Alejandro's advice for photographers trying to find success in the space Chapters: 00:01:49 The Alejandro origin story before becoming a photographer 00:03:44 Alejandro’s entry to photography 00:09:29 Alejandro’s journey to becoming an established artist 00:15:04 The birth of Carpoolers 00:19:29 Alejandro discovering NFTs and Foundation 00:26:32 Building community with Fellowship and Obscura 00:36:31 The curation process at Fellowship 00:40:25 Centralized vs. decentralized curation models 00:42:06 How Fellowship and Obscura’s missions are different 00:42:52 Developing sustainable models for funding artists 00:46:47 Artists marketing their work and what it really means to build community 00:51:09 Magnum Photos 75 NFT Collection 00:53:20 Magnum entering the NFT space and what this signals 00:56:34 The value of work by NFT native artists vs. traditional artists 00:59:43 The parallels between NFTs and the early days of digital photography 01:03:56 Alejandro’s advice for photographers trying to find success in the space 01:06:12 What’s next for Alejandro Relevant links: Follow Alejandro on Twitter: @halecar2 Follow Obscura on Twitter: @obscuradao Follow Fellowship Trust on Twitter: @fellowshiptrust RAW DAO website: www.rawdao.xyz Follow RAW on Twitter: @therawdao Join RAW DAO Discord: discord.gg/rawdao Follow Matthew on Twitter @0xmatthewb Follow Brileigh on Twitter: @0xbrileigh Credits: Hosts: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Production: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Engineering: Matthew Brooks Music: Sam Cronenberg Cover art: Sam Cronenberg

In this episode, Matthew and Brileigh are joined by Carlo Van de Roer. Carlo is a founding member of RAW DAO and the co-founder of Satellite Lab, a creative studio developing innovative lighting technologies for photography and filmmaking. In this episode, Carlo tells us about how he got involved with NFTs, the story behind his project September 20 which inspired the RAW logo, and his galaxy brain lighting technology PlateLight that allows users to retroactively control light after footage has been shot. Topics discussed: September 20 Satellite Lab Modulator One Collection Modulator One Video RAW DAO The Portrait Machine Project Chapters: 00:01:00 Carlo’s entry to photography 00:03:45 September 20 project 00:07:15 The process of September 20 00:10:03 September 20 Set 1 #1 and the RAW logo 00:11:24 Carlo joining RAW DAO at its formation 00:13:58 Carlo and collecting NFTs 00:14:41 Carlo’s relationship to selling and collecting in web3 00:19:45 Satellite Lab 00:22:26 Satellite Lab’s first invention Dynamic Light 00:25:04 Platelight, Satellite Lab’s second invention 00:27:57 Modulator One 00:32:27 Pushing the boundaries of photography through smart contracts and NFTs 00:35:25 The Portrait Machine Project 00:38:38 Carlos interest in new and obsolescent technologies 00:39:28 Carlo and future projects Carlo’s website: http://www.vanderoer.com Follow Carlo on Twitter: @Carlo_VandeRoer RAW DAO website: www.rawdao.xyz Follow RAW on Twitter: @therawdao Join RAW DAO Discord: discord.gg/rawdao Follow Matthew on Twitter @0xmatthewb Follow Brileigh on Twitter: @0xbrileigh Credits: Hosts: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Production: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Engineering: Matthew Brooks Music: Sam Cronenberg Cover art: Sam Cronenberg

In this episode, Matthew and Brileigh are joined by Shane Lavalette. Shane is a founding artist of RAW DAO, the former director of non-profit organization Lightwork, and one of the co-founders of Assembly, which is a gallery, agency, and creative studio supporting visual artists from around the world. Today, we’ll talk with Shane about how he got involved with NFTs, the story behind Assembly, and his collection One Sun, One Shadow which was recently acquired by RAW DAO. Topics discussed: Layflat Lightwork Assembly RAW DAO One Sun, One Shadow #28 One Sun, One Shadow #23 One Sun, One Shadow Chapters: 00:00:57 Shane’s entry to photography 00:03:47 Artists Shane was inspired by 00:05:37 Layflat & interest in publishing 00:08:15 Photobook as a medium for photography 00:10:46 Lightwork and how Shane got involved 00:15:33 Traditional art world vs NFT space 00:16:53 Shane discovering NFTs, and co-founding Assembly 00:20:06 Where the name Assembly comes from 00:21:27 Assembly in the physical and the digital 00:23:58 Challenges onboarding traditional artists into Assembly 00:29:24 Finding artists in web3 that we knew from the photo world 00:31:50 Shane and RAW DAO 00:35:30 Curating, and RAW’s community approach to collecting art 00:37:54 One Sun, One Shadow 00:41:12 The story behind image #28 from One Sun, One Shadow 00:43:43 Quite photographs with tension and image #23 from One Sun, One Shadow 00:46:13 Shane’s relationship to the American South while moving from the North to the South 00:48:27 The importance of building community in the NFT space 00:53:11 Reflecting on Shane’s career and practice, thinking about the value of NFTs 00:56:48 Collectors in NFT space vs collectors in the traditional art world 01:00:52 Shane’s future plans Shane’s website: www.shanelavalette.com Follow Shane on Twitter: @shanelavalette Assembly website: assembly.art Follow Assembly on Twitter: @AssemblyCurated RAW DAO Website: www.rawdao.xyz Follow RAW on Twitter: @therawdao Join RAW DAO Discord: discord.gg/rawdao Follow Matthew on Twitter @0xmatthewb Follow Brileigh on Twitter: @0xbrileigh Credits: Hosts: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Production: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Engineering: Matthew Brooks Music: Sam Cronenberg Cover art: Sam Cronenberg

In this episode, Matthew and Brileigh are joined by Justin Aversano. Justin is a founding artist of RAW DAO and the creator of Twin Flames, a series of photographs of 100 twins from around the world made in honour of his twin who passed away in utero. Launched in February 2021, Twin Flames has since become the highest selling NFT photography collection of all time. Justin is also the founder of SaveArtSpace, a non-profit that brings artists’ work to public space through commercial billboards, and Quantum which is a curated NFT platform and IRL gallery, co-working, and community space. In this episode, we talk with Justin about studying photography and how he almost became a doctor, the story of Twin Flames and how it lead to the formation of RAW DAO and Quantum, and his latest project Smoke and Mirrors. Topics discussed: Twin Flames - 100 Twin Portraits on OpenSea Twin Flames #49 auction at Sotheby's Twin Flames #49 on PartyBid SaveArtSpace Quantum Art Quantum Space LA Smoke and Mirrors - 78 Tarot Portraits on OpenSea Smoke and Mirrors - Physical Tarot Scrolls on OpenSea Chapters: 00:01:26 Justin discovering photography 00:03:51 Story of Twin Flames 00:06:05 Justin finding NFTs 00:11:13 Value of community building 00:14:41 Reflections on art school 00:16:08 Twin Flames #49 00:20:24 What makes RAW different than a traditonal art collection? 00:21:46 RAW’s Community Curation model 00:22:23 Quantum 00:24:44 Quantum IRL 00:25:32 NFTs as the digital twin of the physical reality - balancing both 00:29:06 The tension between community and greed in the NFT market 00:31:15 Smoke and Mirrors 00:33:33 Artists and mysticism 00:34:42 Tarot, and photography’s relationship to interpretation 00:36:51 Twindom, duality, chance, and interconnectedness in Justin’s life Justin's website: justinaversano.com Follow Justin on Twitter: @justinaversano RAW DAO website: rawdao.xyz Follow RAW DAO on Twitter: @theRAWdao Join RAW DAO Discord: discord.gg/rawdao Follow Matthew on Twitter: @0xmatthewb Follow Brileigh on Twitter: @0xbrileigh Credits: Hosts: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Production: Matthew Brooks and Brileigh Hardcastle Engineering: Matthew Brooks Music: Sam Cronenberg Cover art: Sam Cronenberg