Overview

The convergence of art and culture from the physical to digital realm is inexorable, with tech-enabled platforms happily continuing to focus on democratising access. Key to this process is the ability to engage audiences; there is no question that content is still king and its reign over our cultural landscape is one destined to remain unchallenged for some time.

As more young people now dream of a career as a YouTuber than an astronaut or doctor, it is vital to effectively harness this creativity and passion for reaching the masses for positive outcomes and the benefit of society.

Social activism certainly remains firmly en vogue, but there are significant challenges in how to communicate meaningful ideas that cut through the noise.

Cross-disciplinary co-operation remains a powerful tool to capture attention, but such relationships and the ideas espoused must come from a place of authenticity; audiences want inspiring collaborations, not unnatural cultural collisions.

There exist some fascinating opportunities for traditional cultural institutions like galleries, museums and festivals to be more aggressively progressive, using technology to find and nurture new audiences.

KEY THEMES

NFT ART

THE HOPE IS THAT DIGITAL CERTIFICATES WILL PUT MORE POWER INTO THE HANDS OF INDIVIDUAL ARTISTS

The initial fanfare around NFT art is already beginning to subside after significant early hype culminated in cryptoartist Beeple’s piece Everydays: The First 5000 Days selling for a record-breaking $69 million at Christie’s in March 2021. Some baulked at such a staggering investment then and there is certainly now a feeling that estimated and real values across the industry may have been over-inflated.

However, there is still plenty to be excited about in this realm. NFTs have disrupted art’s engrained elitism and given a welcome new platform for digital artists, so often historically snubbed in favour of their physical counterparts. The blockchain is also a powerful tool to create scarcity and there is also a big movement to it for contracts, transfer of ownership and authentication of artwork.

With each Non-Fungible Token, the digital certificate that represents the artwork, security of ownership and copyright is assured more effectively. This is a level of protection that many aspiring artists have typically sacrificed in order to build their reputation, with galleries often taking a large chunk of sale proceeds. The hope is that it will put more power into the hands of individual artists and there is no reason why the next Banksy cannot be a digital avatar born in the metaverse.

IMMERSIVE FESTIVALS

MUSIC FESTIVALS NOW HAVE TO OFFER MUCH MORE THAN MUSIC TO PROSPER

Mass music festivals have begun to lose their edge, the market saturated by an excessive number of options. Outliers like the UK’s iconic Glastonbury festival exist, but there is an increasing schism forming between cheap, accessible events and more expensive, luxurious or niche offerings. The middle ground is disappearing and mid-range festivals are in danger unless they become more creative with their approach.

Scarcity of artist appearances was once a major carrot dangled in front of festival-goers, but a post-pandemic desire to make up for lost time and revenue means many musicians have increased the frequency of their appearances – leading to some events losing their lustre and driving down demand.

Festivals are expensive to run with tight margins and it seems only the biggest and best can be profitable and survive. Festivals have simply not been selling out as much and there have been a raft of global cancellations in 2022. Expect more of the same in 2023.

However, there are some sparks of positivity to keep the festival flame burning a little longer. Those who offer more than music can prosper, with festivals that place wellness workshops alongside traditional performers able to pull in crowds who want an experience beyond music.

Capitalising on fandom and creating events that focus on richer interactions with artists could also hold the key to success. Australian electronica trio Rufus Du Sol successfully launched their own self-curated festival this year, Sundream Tulum in Mexico, promising four days of music and wellness activities. Ticket prices were higher, but the promise of an exclusive, experiential event drove people to purchase. Similarly, look out for brand-driven ‘festivals’ more akin to extended immersive activations, with the likes of Nickelodeon and Disney already actively exploring this space.

DEMOCRATISING CULTURE

One of technology’s greatest gifts to humanity has been the democratisation of information and there is rightly now a major focus on how culture can also be democratised, to ensure that access to it is not limited to the elite. Museums and art galleries around the world had already begun to experiment with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) pre-pandemic, but the need to both connect with past patrons and capture new ones has hastened its integration.

Museums and galleries are no longer solely physical spaces, and there seems to have been an industry awakening to the fact that a strong digital footprint can generate an audience that stretches far beyond a building’s locale. Collections will continue to be more widely digitised and institutions will look to content creators to bring exhibits to life in more experimental and experiential ways.

PROJECTS TO INSPIRE

CERCLE, FRANCE

What began as a YouTube channel broadcasting electronic music from a Parisian apartment, Cercle has mushroomed into one of the world’s most exciting live music brands in just a few short years. The 2022 Cercle Festival took place against the backdrop of a rocket at the French Air and Space Museum, while previous events have been held at similarly dramatic venues – including various chateaus, the Eiffel Tower and even on the Hudson River in New York.

Showcasing cultural heritage sites and landmarks through the prism of electronic music, Cercle has quickly built up a significant fanbase.

WOMEN RISE

Capitalising on the popularity of profile pictures (PFPs) in the NFT space, Pakistani-American artist Maliha Abidi has created a collection of 10,000 generated avatars celebrating the diverse traits of women across the globe.

It is designed to allow people to own a unique art piece while also making the NFT space more diverse and inclusive, with Abidi attempting to use her platform to encourage more women and marginalised communities to be given access to the metaverse and to be better exposed to STEM in general. A percentage of primary sales from the NFTs supports charities that focus on girls’ education.

VAN GOGH ALIVE

The new frontier of pop-up exhibitions, Van Gogh Alive is an industry-defining concept whose scope and influence has been remarkable. Seen by more than 8.5 million visitors across 75 cities worldwide, the immersive experience features more than 3,000 Van Gogh images viewed through high-definition projectors, accompanied by a powerful classical score heard in cinema-quality surround sound.

This multi-sensory exhibition is a gamechanger for how people consume art and has already inspired the opening of new Las Vegas digital art gallery Perception, which pays homage to another art titan, Leonardo Da Vinci.