Saatchi Art Launching Jury-Curated NFT Photography Auction

Renowned online art gallery Saatchi Art has announced Visions of the Future – a jury-curated exhibition and auction of NFT photography. The auction will feature 50 fine art photographers and open in August 2022. The project is the gallery’s second major endeavor in the NFT space so far.

All about Visions of the Future NFT photography exhibition

Visions of the Future follows on from Saatchi Art’s first NFT collection, The Other Avatars. Notably, that first NFT collection, featuring handmade art from 154 artists, sold out in 20 minutes. Now the gallery is looking to a new batch of artists to explore this new theme. In essence, the new exhibition and auction will feature works by artists that explore different ideas of the future.

The submission period for photographers began on June 20th and continues until July 25th. After that, there will be a weeklong curation period. Finally, the auction preview for The Other Avatars NFT holders will take place right before the public auction opening in early August.

Capucine Jenkins, Senior Manager of Digital Art and NFTs at Saatchi Art, spoke on the importance of artists during periods of change.

“Artists have always been at the forefront of cultural and technological shifts,” she said, explaining why Saatchi Art wanted to highlight this work.

In order to curate the selection of NFT photography, Saatchi Art put together a jury of world-class creatives and thought-leaders. Not just from the fine art photography space but also from NFTs. Together, this jury selected works by 50 artists for the auction. Jury members include:

• Capucine Jenkins (Senior Manager of Digital Art and NFTs, Saatchi Art)
• Monty Preston (Curator; Creative Director, The Other Avatars)
• Ryan Stanier (Founder, The Other Art Fair)
• Akosua Adu-Sanyah (Artist/Activist)
• Colborn Bell (Co-Founder & Director, the Museum of Crypto Art)
• Miss Aniela (Fine art photographer)

Saatchi Art forging ahead with phygital art experience

Another key part of the project is the phygital (physical and digital) art experience for NFT collectors. To explain, Saatchi Art is producing a physical limited edition of three for each of the artworks in the auction. Specifically, Bay Photo will produce and frame the prints.

For each NFT in the auction, one of the three editions will be redeemable by the auction winner. Meanwhile, the other two editions will be available through the end of 2022. This is for anybody who purchases the NFTs later on the secondary market.

“As one of the only online art galleries selling both physical and digital art, we are uniquely positioned to present a project like Visions of the Future,” said Wayne Chang, General Manager of Saatchi Art.

“By integrating both physical and digital elements, we’re enriching the collecting experience for both traditional art lovers and NFT natives in a way that only Saatchi Art could achieve.”

All things considered, Visions of the Future will be a wonderful showcase for some amazing NFT photography, and the artists creating it. While this sector of NFTs still goes largely under the radar, it has a strong community of creators and collectors behind it.