Mike “Beeple” Winkelmann made headlines last year with his record-breaking $69.3 million sale of NFT artwork at a Christie’s auction, and followed that up with a Time magazine cover and “The Tonight Show” appearances. Now he’s aiming to bring the NFT world to even more people by establishing a real-world studio that will host exhibitions.
Today, Beeple shared a video showing the construction of his sizable new studio in Charleston, South Carolina, which appears to be set in an overhauled warehouse. In the video, we see the first steps as workers tear down walls and develop the space within the future Beeple Studios.
In a tweet thread, Beeple wrote that the space will be an “outlet for not just my artwork, but the entire digital art/NFT community,” with plans to host exhibitions and find unique ways to display NFT artwork for real-world patrons to view on-site.
now is the time to BUILD. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/4OuX4F25L8
— beeple (@beeple) October 13, 2022
“Coming together and experiencing digital artwork IRL is something that I think will help bring in the next wave of collectors,” he wrote, “and that is precisely what we need to move past this bear market.”
Beeple added that NFT creators need to “find new ways” to attract people who may have heard about NFTs, but don’t fully understand how they work. An NFT is a blockchain token that represents ownership in a unique item, and can be used with things like digital artwork and collectibles, but also real-world items.
“I believe by showing people that this artwork can absolutely be shared and appreciated in real life, not just on our tiny screens,” Beeple wrote, “they will see that this medium is just like any other with the ability to bring beauty, provoke thoughtful discussion, and truly move us.”
