Here for the Art for Real

Examining MakingIt 24/7, a Crypto Art Collective as Grounded in the Past as it is the Future

Tabbed Out (2023), by SubtleBubble. In collection of robapuros

No. This is enough: Multiple artists engaged in creation alongside each other, bound by the fire of manifestation itself.

Road Rash (2023), by Anubis3100, in collection of Aleqth

Regardless, I believe that MakingIt24/7’s financial and self-motivational momentum may represent a path forward, as crypto art fights daily against its own self-doubt. This collective itself is a kind of cave painting, an eternally-recognizable marker of a yesteryear many of us might have assumed to be long gone.

Still from Dynamite Stick (2023), by Vinnie Hagar. In collection of 0xsanvegeta.eth
Shell (2023), by Vad. In collection of funghivault

MakingIt 24/7 members, without hierarchy and without set direction, seem hellbent on fostering an environment of togetherness and growth by every available means. Their attitude of radical self-sustainment and mutual development harkens back to crypto art’s yesteryear.

mem.card.1 (2023), by Earthsample. In collection of Photontide
First Supper (2020), by Alotta Money, Sparrow Reed, Coldie, Connie Digital, Hackatao, Jose Bellini, MLIBTY, Matt Kane, Rutger Van Der Tas, SHORTCUT, TwistedVacancy, Vansdesign, and XCOPY. In collection of MetaKovan

I imagine it’s extremely difficult to build any kind of similarly self-supporting network today without appearing like a salesperson. Many of us ignore messages from unknown folks in our DM’s by rule. Requests for eyes on a new piece, or more direct appeals for collectorship, often seem like a kind of marketeering we’re vehemently uninterested in. We don’t know who to trust, and with scams galore, we fear the unknown. I hesitate to visit a link. I’ll be damned if I sign an un-vetted contract.

Dial-up (2023), by Claire Salvo. In collection of 0xF349…9866

Because community is as important now as ever. The highest-selling artists, you may have noticed, don’t create in a vacuum. They are constantly and publicly offering each other support, promoting conversation, bidding on each others’ artwork. Just because this set of artists and collectors have congealed does not mean they are not doing things the right way. MakingIt 24/7’s greatest innovation may prove to be their novel new method of community-building: A conspicuous devotion to addressing the specific needs of its members so as to keep the group strength alive and accelerating. Rather than just trying to break into the current artistic meta, they are building one of their own through a take-no-prisoners adherence to their values. Luck is always going to be necessary in such cases. A lot has to go right in the first place to get a mossy stone rolling.

Still from iPad Kids (2023), by Nuh milo. In collection of Sniper.

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Museum of Crypto Art (M○C△) is the premier destination for crypto art and innovative collaborations that ignite our collective imaginations