The Musée d’Orsay will also collaborate with the Tezos Foundation on a series of lectures and educational programs over the next year.
The Musée d’Orsay, home to the world’s most extensive collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, has embarked on an innovative journey to attract a broader, younger audience by delving into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain technology. . The move comes after the museum faced challenges attracting visitors during the uncertainties of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, d’Orsay faced declining attendance as the pandemic imposed closures and restrictions. Guillaume Roux, the museum’s development director, expressed concern about the declining number of French and young visitors.
“The French came less, the young people came less. “We realized we would have to fight to get back the visitors we had lost,” he said. Decipher.
The Orsay Museum joins the cryptocurrency bandwagon
That same year, the French museum welcomed a new president, Christophe Leribault, whose mission was to make Orsay accessible to a broader, younger demographic. He recognized the potential of blockchain and NFTs, which were causing waves of excitement in the art world, as a means of breathing new life into the institution.
Almost two years later, the Musée d’Orsay has announced a groundbreaking partnership with the Tezos Foundation, the brains behind the creation of the Tezos blockchain. The year-long collaboration aims to bring blockchain-backed artworks and digital artists into dialogue with the museum’s vast collections and exhibitions.
To launch this partnership, the museum will offer chain digital souvenirs to visitors attending the upcoming exhibition, “Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise: The Last Months,” opening on October 3, 2023.
The upcoming exhibition will showcase the works of Vincent van Gogh during the last two months of his life, offering a unique insight into his creative genius.
According to a report from Decrypt, museum visitors and art enthusiasts will be able to purchase two digital souvenirs associated with the exhibition starting next week. The first is an augmented reality piece that represents Van Gogh’s final palette. At the same time, the second is an original digital artwork inspired by Van Gogh, created by Keru, a French cultural blockchain project.
These pieces will be minted on the Tezos blockchain and come with gamified elements that offer the chance to win prizes, including lifetime passes to the Musée d’Orsay and invitations to its grand opening events. A total of 2,300 NFTs of each variety will be available for 20 euros (about $21) each.
Orsay Museum to Invite Blockchain Artists for Job Opportunities
In addition to these digital initiatives, d’Orsay and the Tezos Foundation will collaborate on a series of conferences and educational programs over the next year. The programs aim to introduce museum visitors to emerging technologies, including blockchain.
Additionally, the museum intends to invite digital artists working with blockchain to create nft collections inspired by its permanent collection of artworks, an initiative that mirrors the ongoing initiative at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). ).
Valerie Whitacre, head of art at Trilitech, the London-based Tezos adoption center that collaborates with the Musée d’Orsay, said the museum’s experimentation with crypto art aligns with its historic role as a collector of artists who often challenged traditional norms.
“There is something to gain for both worlds. The Musée d’Orsay has a long lineage of collecting artists that traditionalists would not otherwise have accepted. And there is a beautiful feeling on the part of the team that experimenting with crypto art, experimenting with how one can engage audiences consuming art in a new way, ties into the overall story of the museum,” Whitacre said.
The museum’s development director, for his part, highlighted the importance of adapting to the times, stating:
“Today it is not a question of how many people we can bring to the museum; It is about being a museum aware of its time, it is about being a museum that speaks to new generations.”
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Chimamanda is a cryptocurrency enthusiast and an experienced writer focusing on the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies. She joined the industry in 2019 and has since developed an interest in the emerging economy. She combines her passion for blockchain technology with her love of travel and food, bringing a fresh and engaging perspective to her work.
