December is now with us, and there are just a handful of days to go before Gateway Miami, Now Media’s three-day celebration of digital artists and web3 culture, opens its doors to the crowds during Miami Art Week.
Produced in partnership with FACTBLOCK, the event—whose theme is “Blossoming”—will “celebrate the creativity and resilience of artists in full bloom,” according to its website, with groundbreaking immersive galleries, live performances, and intimate talks with exhibiting artists and industry leaders.
Over the past weeks, nft now has been shining a light on many of the creators who will be taking part in Gateway. Today, as the event opening approaches, it’s a great opportunity to offer a bird’s eye view of Gateway—and a few surprises!
From Dec. 6-8, Gateway will take place at Miami Beach’s Faena Forum—a stunning events space designed by Rem Koolhaas and OMA, right in the heart of the Miami Art Week action. The Gateway crew has been busy designing a transformation of the interior for next week’s event, which will turn the Forum into a light-filled space full of flowers, greenery, and—of course—interactive exhibit spaces that emerge from the vision of our participating artists and brand partners.
“Bringing Gateway Miami to the Faena Forum in the heart of the Miami Art Week action represents the realization of a vision we’ve shared since day one—putting digital art front and center where it belongs. The Gateway has always been about bridging the gaps between the traditional and digital art worlds, so we invite newcomers to experience digital art and culture in a way they’ve never seen before,” Matt Medved, Now Media’s co-founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief, told us.
“Gateway Miami at Faena Forum represents the realization of a vision we’ve shared since day one—putting digital art front and center where it belongs.”
MATT MEDVED
As a theme, “Blossoming” is a departure from how many people see digital art—focusing on dark imagery, with death and gore as a common focus.
“It’s been a long and trying crypto winter, but we’re starting to see it thaw. In choosing the theme of ‘Blossoming,’ we wanted to recognize the creativity and resilience of artists who have been showing up during the bear market and staying true to their vision,” Medved said.
“Spring is coming, and we wanted Gateway Miami’s design and curation to reflect that with stunning floral adornments and vibrant colors set against the Faena Forum’s elegant white backdrop. Many of our artists took the theme to heart and brought the energy of rebirth and renewal in their works. In light of that, it was also important for us to showcase new faces and fresh talents alongside the world’s leading digital artists,” Medved continued.
The World’s Leading Artists
Within the Faena Forum space, there will be so much to explore—and one of the most intriguing exhibits will be Refik Anadol’s “Sense of Healing,” which will be shown for the first time on American soil at Gateway Miami.
This AI data sculpture, built in Anadol’s characteristic titanic scale, is the product of Anadol’s research into neurotherapeutic art—works of art that can actually affect the state of mind of the viewer. Using datasets compiled from MindMaze technologies, Anadol and his team transformed brain activity measurements from imaging technologies like EEGs and fMRIs, interpreting them to produce a multi-sensory, immersive artwork.
With his long-time commitment to showcasing digital art, Medved is excited about exhibiting “Sense of Healing.”
“Refik Anadol is a digital art pioneer at the forefront of AI, data-driven painting and installation art. Fresh off his momentous MoMA announcement, we envisioned bringing the incredible ‘Sense of Healing’ piece to the United States for the first time and knew that Gateway Miami would be the perfect setting for his work to be experienced. We had Refik on our podcast back in May 2022 and have a great relationship with him and his team. After curating his work for Gateway Korea, it was a natural progression to make magic happen again here. I hope viewers leave feeling as inspired about the future of digital art as we do,” he said.
Alongside “Sense of Healing,” Gateway will be packed with artwork from digital creators at the pinnacle of their careers, as well as emerging artists—including Diana Sinclair, Cowboy Killer, Osinachi, FVCKRENDER, Krista Kim, SlimeSunday, Emonee LaRussa, Jen Stark, Ryan Koopmans, Bryan Brinkman, Yatreda ያጥሬዳ, Cory Van Lew, Jack Butcher, Zancan, Sofia Crespo, Emi Kusano, Alpha Centauri Kid, Defaced, Heno, Melissa Wiederrecht, GMUNK, omentejovem, Grant Yun, and Varvara Alay.
Immersive Activations
Leading traditional and web3 brands are also taking part in the celebration, offering unique, immersive installations to attendees: these include Christie’s, LG Art Lab, Lens Protocol, Mercedes-Benz NXT, SHISEIDO, Wilder World, Ekos Genesis Art Collection, and Atomic Form. Everyone is bringing their A-game to Gateway, and it would take thousands of words to describe the carefully crafted experiences on offer. To whet your appetite, here’s a brief overview of the activations below.
Alongside Now Media, Christie’s is co-curating a digital art gallery, “Next Wave: The Miami Edit,” which will be on display at the Faena Forum while simultaneously being up for auction on the Christie’s website. Working with a diverse range of mediums, the selected artists—including Ryan Koopmans, Yatreda and Defaced—all have their own signature styles widely recognized in contemporary digital art.
LG Art Lab will showcase a selection of artists on their impressive OLED screens, inspiring attendees to imagine how OLED can excel as a digital canvas and connect visitors with their visually stunning NFT marketplace, while Lens Protocol will showcase three emerging creators in its activation. These artists are redefining digital identity and community engagement, transforming it into a vital tool for distributing and monetizing their creations.
The Lens Protocol space at the Faena Forum will also feature a unique encounter with “Clem,” an engaging piece of “animal software with a tropical twist.” Clem’s mood changes based on your social activity, and attendees will have an exclusive opportunity to claim their own instance of Clem—and a profile on Lens Protocol’s social network.
Mercedes-Benz’ NXT project will also make itself known at Gateway Miami with an activation that showcases two of its core collections: Maschine, a generative art collection created alongside Fingerprints DAO and Harm van den Dorpel, and Mercedes-Benz NXT Icons, a series of digital collectibles that celebrate Mercedes-Benz’s iconic design heritage.
SHISEIDO, the historic Japanese cosmetics brand, will present “Future Reflection,” a collection of unique generative artworks created in partnership with contemporary artists Jen Stark, Kaoru Tanaka, Hannah Yan, and Robert Hodgin, powered by Art Blocks Engine. The collection, the first of its kind from a beauty brand, celebrates the parallel processes of creating generative, code-based art and the art and science inherent to beauty product innovation.
For metaverse company Wilder World, attendees can enter their space at Gateway and be among the earliest to experience their first game, Midnight in Wiami. Wilder World’s space will include six monitors showing scenes from their photorealistic metaverse and a big screen showing the live gameplay from the simulators, along with two state-of-the-art, fully-playable immersive simulators.
Ekos Genesis Art Collection, by Marvel Studios and Mythos Studios founder David Maisel, in partnership with acclaimed artists Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald, will debut its 1/1 digital art collection at Gateway. Mythos, an IP entertainment studio, is developing a graphic novel and filmed entertainment for the world of Ekos—and visitors will get the first look at this lore-rich world at the Faena Forum.
Atomic Form, builders of gallery-quality digital art displays, will have their latest models on show at Gateway, featuring art that shows their technology at the height of its power. Visitors will also get the first look at their new technology, Atomic Sign, which empowers digital creators, collectors, and curators with solutions to capture, preserve, and display an NFT’s provenance.
Industry-Leading Programming
Artist activations will delight the senses. Yatreda ያጥሬዳ, a collective of Ethiopian artists, will be offering a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony to attendees—a ritual for guests to connect, by taking a moment to slow down and focus on each other. Guests will enter the Fawns Forum’s Auditorium seating area, where they will take a cup of coffee from an actress acting as the Coffee Muse and ceremony leader. Music of the electric krar will fill the room from speakers, with visuals of the musician playing the instrument on screen.
Once the guests are seated, the audio will transition to an atmospheric drone, and Kiya will give a 10-minute talk about the coffee ceremony, the origins of Yatreda, and her artwork. Behind her, visuals and artwork will play on the projector screen in accordance with her speech. At the end of the talk, guests will be welcome to stay and take additional cups of coffee as they interact with Kiya and each other.
The Auditorium will also host a series of prominent speakers, including noted author Deepak Chopra, Art Blocks founder Erick “Snowfro” Calderon in conversation with renowned artist Sam Spratt, plus Jack Butcher, Emi Kusano, Jen Stark, and many more.
While Gateway is open to all comers—register on their website to get access—there will be special events for VIPs and Now Pass holders, including an opening dinner followed by an invite-only party featuring surprise musical guests.
Now Pass holders will also get early access to the venue each day, giving them an exceptional opportunity to experience the art before the day’s crowds come in.
Crowds and excitement are definitely on the cards; as the fourth iteration of Gateway, Gateway Miami follows the highly successful debut of Gateway Korea this past September, which welcomed 4,500 visitors; last year’s Gateway Miami racked up 12,000 attendees. With a location at the heart of Art Basel Miami’s activities, Gateway Miami will likely be a big draw for web3 veterans and newcomers.
Please see the detailed programming schedules for each day below. Up-to-date details of speakers, exhibits, and events at Gateway will appear on the Gateway website as they are confirmed, and nft now will be covering Gateway as it happens.
