A meteoric hype? Or avant-garde? At its Francisco Carolinum venue in Linz, OÖ Landes-Kultur presents PROOF OF ART, the world’s first museum exhibition on the history of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and digital art. The project surveys the origins of NFTs and their evolution, from formative early trial runs with digital technologies to the first artistic experiments with the blockchain and today’s cutting-edge crypto-art. Online and offline, the multimedia exhibition and the related publication each present the positions of twenty-six artists who grapple with the new system of meanings and values, examine the role that artists play in our high-tech environment, and discuss the repercussions of virtual spaces in the reality of our lives.

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Released in conjunction with the exhibition, the publication is designed less as an accompanying catalogue than as a handbook that sheds light on NFTs in their (art) historical contexts, from the media art of the 1950s/60s to contemporary positions. Experts in a range of disciplines contributed essays: Daniel Heiss and Margit Rosen, Fabian Müller-Nittel, Georg Bak, Anika Meier, Schoenherr Attorneys at Law, Charlotte Kent, and Claudia Hart. With a preface by Alfred Weidinger and an intro by Jesse Damiani.

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With: !Mediengruppe Bitnik, Kevin Abosch, Ai Wei Wei, Refik Anadol, Nancy Baker Cahill, Blake Kathryn, Cryptowiener, Simon Denny, Harm van den Dorpel, Constant Dullaart, Primavera de Filippi, Finest Rares (Jason Rosenstein), Herbert W. Franke, Sarah Friend, Fvckrender, Keiken, Larva Labs, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Nili Lerner, Jonas Lund, Marjan Moghaddam, Sarah Meyohas, Rhea Myers, Nam June Paik, Anna Ridler, Mark Sabb (Felt Zine), Terra.

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