It’s that time of year already. After holding NFT NYC in November last year, the event is in June this year, and there’s just one more day to nominate your favorites for an award. Only the top 5 nominees in each category are up for the win, so be sure to nominate your favorite projects, artists, and infrastructure today!
Immediately after the nomination period is closed, voting will open for all categories. I'm hoping the community will come together and get some of our beloved IC projects on the ballot. Here are my nominations (I did not enter all of the categories):
Most Innovative NFT Project: @FlowerPowerDAO
The Flower Power DAO has put together a Web3 decentralized autonomous organization. Besides that, the two collections so far (BTC Flower and ETH Flower) are massively successful. Pineapple Punks are releasing soon with airdrops BTCf holders and a whitelist for ETHf holders. Plus, ICP Flowers will bloom later this year.
Most Innovative Smart Contract: @BTCFlower
BTC Flower has been all about innovation from day one. Led by the incredibly talented @cryptschindler, the development team created an NFT that originally appeared as a seed and then bloomed into a flower, and that’s just where things get started. The speed of the green highlighting in the petals of the flower is linked to the price of Bitcoin. I haven’t had to check my portfolio to know it’s down lately. I can just see the flower petal animation has been quite lethargic. I’ll be excited the first time I see the pace of the green highlighting pick up for a few straight days (as I’m sure many other people will be).
Best NFT Artist: @thisisludotwee1
The overall cream of the crop this year has to be Ludo. He’s one of the most accomplished real-world artists to crossover into the NFT world. With installations worldwide and work for many famous musicians like Bono, David Gilmour, and Radiohead, Ludo had a leg up on the competition from day one in the NFT world. And his art has translated beautifully into the digital realm.
Best Emerging NFT Artist: @thisisludotwee1
I’m back to Ludo on this one. With his first introduction to the ICP community at Art Basel last year and his first NFT collection launching on January 23rd, 2022, he’s definitely my pick for “rookie” of the year, regardless of his long-time art career.
Best Established NFT Artist: @allseeingseneca
I’m diverging from the Internet Computer blockchain for the first time… or am I? Seneca’s most recent artworks, first released at last year’s Art Basel, are hosted on the Internet Computer blockchain. So even though the Bored Ape Yacht Club artist's recent works are still sold on OpenSea using the Ethereum blockchain, I can stick with IC-hosted artists and still give Seneca her due credit for continuing to create amazing art.
Best Digital NFT Artist: @pokedstudiouk
I had to get Jon Ball from pokedstudio on the list, and what better way than with the best digital NFT artist award. Jon is hard at work on a second collection of Poked bots, and every sneak peek is even more mind-blowing than the last. For those of you who love prints and other IRL art products, check out the pokedstudio shop.
Best Non-digital NFT Artist: @marksarmel
Mark is a Detroit-based artist known for creating stunning characters in his art. His cultural inclusivity makes his artwork a refreshing break from traditional art. You can buy prints of his artwork directly from his website, or you can order canvas paintings on Artsy. Plus, he’s the artist behind the Panda Queen collection on Entrepot.
Best Traditional Artist turned NFT Artist: @thisisludotwee1
One more nomination for Ludo. While he’s probably best known for his street art, and I’m not even sure Ludo would like the title “traditional artist,” I felt like this one was a no-brainer. R.I.P. Banking System is the street art that led to the BTC Flower NFT, and you can pick up a lithograph of the artwork on Artsy.
Best Use of Emerging Technology for Digital Art: @Impossible_NFT
The ORIGYN Foundation is pioneering the way in turning real-life artworks and collectibles into NFTs. Scanning the items to create 3D NFTs while also offering authentication is going to turn their marketplace, Impossible Things, into one of the most exclusive spots for high-end NFT collectibles.
Best Use of Artificial Intelligence for Digital Art: @styleWishh
There just wasn’t an AI project on the Internet Computer that holds up to what Belgian artist Wout is doing on Ethereum. The AI Fountain collection on OpenSea is hands down my favorite use of artificial intelligence for digital art.
Best NFT Art Gallery: @museedezentral
Musee Dezentral offers a 222-frame decentralized art gallery in the Metaverse. I first learned about the gallery when they hosted an online exhibition from the BTC Flower collection. However, the reason they get my nomination is because of just how easy and intuitive it is to use the site. It provides a really immersive sense of being at a gallery and looking at fine art.
Best Environmental Initiative from an NFT Project: @C4Changemaking
While this project may be in stasis, the concept was clean, and the team seems to be doing their best to implement their vision of planting fields of wildflowers. The war in Eastern Europe has interrupted the project as the Crypto4Changemaking team is from Ukraine. But they are continuing to promote their environmental values. For example, they tweeted a link to American Meadows so people from the US would know which wildflowers are native to their country.
Most Sustainable Blockchain or Protocol: @dfinity
No proof of work puts the Internet Computer ahead of most other blockchains as far as sustainability is concerned. When you factor in how little energy is required to run nodes and how scalable the entire ecosystem is, the Internet Computer proves to be ahead of the game when it comes to both technology and sustainability.
Best Fashion NFT Project @VRSTLstudios
Jin Maa’s VRSTL (pronounced versatile) Studios has now released two NFT collections. Dragon Boots are the first high-end fashion NFT on the Internet Computer. The Drip Bang collection promises to go off and provide some more fashion in the future (and offers some fantastic fashion art in the meantime).
Best Written Coverage of NFTs: @ICPSquad
Am I partial because I’m a writer for Dfinity Community? Sure. But it can still be the best. I know how many hours I personally put into creating a weekly NFT market update for the Internet Computer that keeps its finger on the pulse of the market. I hope you find it insightful and worth a weekly read. The team is talented and committed to great content regarding NFTs and everything else on the Internet Computer.
Best NFT Marketplace: @EntrepotApp
Love it or hate it, Entrepot continues to exert its dominance among the NFT marketplaces on the IC. And honestly, I’ve had way fewer problems with Entrepot than many of the Ethereum marketplaces (and certainly all of the SOL and XTZ marketplaces). That’s why they’re number one in my book for NFT marketplaces, and someone else is going to have to work crazy hard over the next year if they want to get my nomination in 2023.
That’s my list! Let me know what you think. And don’t forget to submit your nominations by the deadline: Sunday, May 22nd.
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