Art and NFTs

We are just completing a thirty-year arc of digitisation. Now we are beginning a thirty-year arc of tokenisation. — Kevin McCoy, artist and first person to make an NFT

Since the NFT craze began in the art world, the information available for the art audience is often either too reductive to be helpful or repetitive. Artists, collectors, and arts professionals are still trying to understand what NFTs are, how to capitalise on them, and what they mean for the art world in the future. Art and NFTs addresses precisely this audience.

In this book, the authors take the reader through the basic concepts of NFTs, the blockchain, their origins, their connections to art-making and art-collecting, and their potential to radically reshape the arts. The aim is to provide the reader with the information and tools that will enable them to engage with this new technology and understand its connections to the longer arc of art history.

The volume includes key chapters: "Origin Stories", "Artists + Making" (how artists are currently using NFTs and practical information on how to make and distribute them), "Collectors + Buying" (what it means to collect an NFT and other advice for current and soon-to-be collectors), and "Future States" (how NFTs can democratise the art world).

In addition to the authors' extensive knowledge, the book draws on a wide range of interviews with leading contributors.