To understand where we’re going you need to know how we got here.

When we set off on this journey in February 2021, opening a physical NFT gallery was never part of the plan.

Our original idea was to build an online platform where artists could showcase their work and tell their stories.

What’s happened since then is a testament to the power of community.

A Journey into the Metaverse

By late February we noticed something special was happening in the metaverse, specifically Cryptovoxels.

We were blown away by not only the virtual galleries and exhibitions that were being created, but the real community that was forming.

It immediately became clear that if imnotArt wanted to create a platform to empower artists, imnotArt needed to have land in the metaverse.

From there, the imnotArt Community Gallery was born.

imnotArt on Twitter: "Just added another beautiful piece from our friend @never_clame in our virtual gallery.We're featuring work from emerging #NFT artists at our @cryptovoxels event this Thursday. Comment below if you have a piece you would like featured! pic.twitter.com/LLv7FsL1VA / Twitter"

Just added another beautiful piece from our friend @never_clame in our virtual gallery.We're featuring work from emerging #NFT artists at our @cryptovoxels event this Thursday. Comment below if you have a piece you would like featured! pic.twitter.com/LLv7FsL1VA

For 12 straight weeks the imnotArt team hosted an event every Thursday night, featuring 300+ artists from 50+ different countries. We expanded our land and bought our ‘Featured Gallery’ where we can showcase the Featured artist of the week as part of our events.

Our virtual galleries became a home for both prominent and lesser-known NFT creators; our Discord filled up with people on every stage of their crypto journeys. We have skillsets of every kind between our group of artists, programmers, collectors, and enthusiasts.

In less than three months we had become a top 10 most visited parcel in Cryptovoxels’ history.

The response from the community was just overwhelming.

From the Metaverse to Chicago

As we started to grow we noticed that a large percentage of our early community was from the Chicago-area. It almost seemed bizarre. As the weeks went by, even more people from Chicago showed up. It was clear that something special was happening here in our hometown.

What if we built a space to harness it?

In the definition of full YOLO, we saw a opportunity to build something the world had never seen before — a hybrid physical/digital NFT gallery — an extension of our popular virtual galleries and online community — and start it right here in Chicago.

From there we found 1010 N. Ashland — a traditional gallery space in Wicker Park that was looking for a new tenant. The stars aligned, and imnotArt Chicago was born.

imnotArt on Twitter: "It's happening... 30 days away!✅First NFT Gallery in Chicago (not a pop-up)✅Opening Event on 6/3✅Unique Digital/Physical Experiences(and this is just the beginning)👀👀👀👀👀👀👀#NFTGallery #nftart #NFTs #nft #Chicago pic.twitter.com/nuKcPG42C1 / Twitter"

It's happening... 30 days away!✅First NFT Gallery in Chicago (not a pop-up)✅Opening Event on 6/3✅Unique Digital/Physical Experiences(and this is just the beginning)👀👀👀👀👀👀👀#NFTGallery #nftart #NFTs #nft #Chicago pic.twitter.com/nuKcPG42C1

We became obsessed with the potential of what we could build here. For years we’ve been reading about combining the physical and the digital —now we had a chance to make that concept a reality.

We wanted to create an immersive, educational space; a home for both crypto-natives and those who don’t yet understand what an NFT is. A space that could bridge the gap between the traditional art world and NFTs.

We wanted a create a space and aesthetic worthy of hosting of fine art exhibitions — a place that could showcases NFTs the way they deserve. So we tore up all the walls, re-did all the electric to hide the outlets and wiring, and splurged on some massive displays.

imnotArt on Twitter: "imnotArt Chicago is officially here 🚀"Chicago's First NFT Gallery"check out our website for more information on how to schedule a visithttps://t.co/uusD0sLqi5 pic.twitter.com/GCF9Zfdzlp / Twitter"

imnotArt Chicago is officially here 🚀"Chicago's First NFT Gallery"check out our website for more information on how to schedule a visithttps://t.co/uusD0sLqi5 pic.twitter.com/GCF9Zfdzlp

Would this be successful? We weren’t sure. But what we did know was that nobody had done this yet, and there was a chance to build the NFT gallery of our dreams.

A physical/digital space where the Chicago community — and international NFT community — could congregate and exchange ideas. A social center that could go down in the history of NFTs, Ethereum, and the art world.

Defining our Goals

As we look towards the future it’s important to define what we’re about.

• Curate Seminal Exhibitions — We want to curate physical/digital NFT exhibitions that showcase the medium in a way we haven’t seen done anywhere in the world. We want these exhibitions to go down in art history as being socially significant. When we look back at this movement, we want “The New Digital: Born in Chicago” and imnotArt to be where it all started.
• Create Hubs for Artistic Expression — Something special is happening at imnotArt Chicago. Our gallery has become a meeting space for artists, collectors, and enthusiasts to congregate, make connections, and share ideas. This is just the beginning.
• Create New Physical/Digital Experiences — We want to create first-in-kind experiences both in Chicago and in the metaverse. We think this is the very beginning of exploring what’s possible. We want to do our part to push things forward and create new experiences. An art exhibition, a music festival, or any event — taking place both physically and virtually but all connected at the same time.

sorryaboutyourcats.eth on Twitter: "Recorded some of 'dem moves.@Patternbase @MVorgitch pic.twitter.com/ZoQGrgAjLS / Twitter"

Recorded some of 'dem moves.@Patternbase @MVorgitch pic.twitter.com/ZoQGrgAjLS

• Onboard Traditional Art Collectors — We want to onboard traditional collectors into the space. So far so good, we’re hosting an event for Sotheby’s collectors on September 9th. We want to see the collector market expand outside of the crypto-natives. We will help this process.
• Be Educators in the Space — We think there is so much bullshit out there. The primary objective of many projects is to separate people from their ETH. This is not imnotArt. We want to educate people on the value of ETH and why it’s a good idea to be stacking it. We want to be ambassadors for NFTs & Ethereum. We want our community to succeed, not be exploited. This may seem counterintuitive as a gallery selling NFTs, but it’s what we believe.
• Be Unequivocally on the Side of Artists — We think this is a paradigm shift in the way artists can monetize off their work. imnotArt stands on the side of artists as we develop a gallery model that is a win-win for both artist and gallery.
• Drive Value as a Gallery — For our first exhibition we are taking 32.5% of the sale (after OpenSea’s fee). As a gallery, we need to justify that percentage. We want to develop imnotArt into an institution where buying a piece from our exhibitions becomes socially significant. We promise to promote our artists in every way possible to maximize their exposure.
• Give Opportunities to the Underrepresented — We’ve done this incredibly well in the metaverse and will continue to do this in the real world. We want to use our platform to showcase creators who are too often overlooked. Stay tuned for some exciting announcements about this.
• Onboard People into the Metaverse — We want to bring people into the metaverse, whether that’s individuals or brands. The more activity and community that grows in the metaverse the better for the entire space.
• Promote 1-of-1 Art — The space is dominated right now by avatar projects, many of which will end poorly. We believe that money should trickle down into 1 of 1 art.
• Throw Amazing Events & Parties — We want to throw the biggest events and parties that the NFT community / metaverse have ever seen. Since we launched in June we’ve hosted the local Chicago Ethereum Meetup, held watch parties for Crypto Art Week Asia, and participated in the first ULTRAGMEGAVERSE event. We see a future where there are massive events (art, music fashion) in the metaverse. We want to be at the forefront of this movement.

imnotArt on Twitter: "ICYMI: Saturday night at imnotArt Chicago was a movie 🎬"The New Digital: Born in Chicago"Auctions closing on Sunday at 3pm CDT pic.twitter.com/pUdOFOBvzw / Twitter"

ICYMI: Saturday night at imnotArt Chicago was a movie 🎬"The New Digital: Born in Chicago"Auctions closing on Sunday at 3pm CDT pic.twitter.com/pUdOFOBvzw

• Onboard Traditional Artists into the Space — One of our very first goals was to bring traditional fine artists into the NFT space; we have some very exciting news to announce in the next few weeks. We think our platform and exhibition potential is a great way to bring in traditional artists who are looking for innovate ways to start in this medium.
• Expand This Movement Across the World — What we’re doing here in Chicago is building out a model that can expand to the rest of the world. We want to create these cultural hubs. Why can’t we have parties/events across the world in different locations + metaverses 24/7?

What You’re Bidding On

As the auctions for ‘The New Digital: Born in Chicago” end this afternoon, it’s important to explain what you’re really bidding on.

1. You’re supporting individual artists by purchasing a 1-of-1 work.
2. You’re supporting the imnotArt team to continue building in this direction.

Since we started in February many people have asked us what our “angle” is — why (and how) are we hosting all of these events and virtual galleries every week without any financial stake.

We intentionally did not want to rush anything; we wanted to prove that as curators we could bring value to our artists; that the gallery model can be applied to NFTs in a value-additive way.

This is the first time the imnotArt team will see any revenue. We’re confident we’ve found a model that supports artists and grows the ecosystem.

By bidding on our pieces you are also helping us build this future.

As we venture off on this journey together, the winners of these 11 auctions from our first exhibition will always have a special place at imnotArt. (hint hint, wink wink)

We’d rather surprise and delight rather than overpromise and underdeliver.

The movement is just getting started.

Sinclair on Twitter: "We're building the future @im_not_art Take a look 👀 pic.twitter.com/NREyDUDIKH / Twitter"

We're building the future @im_not_art Take a look 👀 pic.twitter.com/NREyDUDIKH

Join us on Discord — https://discord.com/invite/jGNr7Mj8xB
Visit our Website — https://imnotart.com
Follow us on Twitter — https://twitter.com/im_not_art

We are a community of artists and programmers joining together to usher in a new era of art history.

A Purpose

A pivotal shift is taking place right before our eyes, changing art history forever. In the new digital economy, the creator is at the center. But not creator as traditionally defined. Our collective lives at the intersection of code and culture, redefining what it means to be a creator by joining artists with programmers to usher in a new era of art history. We exist to empower creators in the new digital economy.

A Moment

We are living in one of the most influential periods in modern art history. The traditional financial model of art is being disrupted right before our eyes. In the traditional model, artists do not own their work. In the traditional model, artists do not share in the upside of their work. In the traditional model, artists are cut off from their work after first sale, dooming them from any future sales of their work.

Not any more.

In the new digital economy, the creator is always connected to the creation.

An Opportunity

The introduction of blockchain technology, namely Ethereum smart contracts, is disrupting the traditional art model and sending shockwaves throughout the industry. An Ethereum smart contract governs all sales for any work of art, and they are written such that creators receive a percentage of initial sales and all subsequent sales.

Simply put, if a piece sells for $10,000, and later sells for $1,000,000, the artist benefits from both sales — a 180° shift from the traditional model.

These transactions are paid for, and processed, on “the blockchain.” What is “the blockchain?” On Ethereum, a collector will pay for a piece of art with a currency called Ether. Instead of a bank approving the purchase of your work, computers on the blockchain approve the transaction and are governed by stipulations in the smart contract.

As revolutionary as this technology might be, we are still so early, and this is just the beginning.

A Problem

In recent days, our industry has experienced an influx of interest from creators, collectors, and programmers from across the world. As each day went by, it was beginning to feel more and more artificial, less and less genuine. An influx of creators in the space, looking to “mint” something for a quick buck (or ETH 🙃) has led to a decrease in what makes our industry so amazing — the stories. The influx of “noisiness” in the marketplace has come at the detriment of the creator and their story.

An Idea — A Collective

Formed in March of 2021, imnotArt was established by a group of six individuals who saw a need for a collective that connects artists and programmers and tells the stories of each creator.

We call ourselves imnotArt.

We are not your traditional art. We exist to disrupt the aforementioned financial model of traditional art. In our digital economy, creators always share in the revenue generated from their work, creating a residual income that was never before possible. We exist to develop a marketplace that promotes the story of our creators and their collections. We empower our creators to define their value and stand out in a noisy marketplace

A Launch

Our proof-of-concept collection — Cracked — was designed and implemented by our very own, imnotOurumov. Cracked consists of 60 generative pieces with variables derived from a unique offline hash string seed. Rarity for this collection is defined by multiple traits including Size, Speed, and Color. The bigger, the rarer. The smaller, the rarer. The faster, the rarer. The entire collection for Cracked can be viewed here and purchased on OpenSea.

An Invitation

We want to invite you along in our journey to build a collective never before seen in this space. Come experience our collective in our virtual gallery on Cryptovoxels. Likewise, join the conversation in Discord or chat with us on Twitter 👋😃.

See you in the Ether.

:)