NFT BC: Vancouver artist is helping to connect the crypto community

Vancouver-based artist and designer Carmilla Sumantry is all about community and collaboration when it comes to Web3 space.

“The mindset of working as a collective to achieve common goals is so fulfilling, not only professionally but also emotionally and socially,” Sumantry told Daily Hive. “There is something really genuine about connecting with like-minded creators who are just eager to share and support one another as we traverse this new era together.”

To help strengthen the connection in the Vancouver NFT community, Sumantry is helping to organize NFT BC, a special art panel and party happening on Sunday, May 1 at Hollywood Theatre.

The event is presented by Simkin Artist Management and will feature panel discussions with some of the top NFT talents in the industry. There will also be an art exhibition, giveaways, and more.

NFT BC is coming up FAST!!!
I’m so stoked to see all the Vancouver fam out for this, celebrating local art and local community 🖤

Tickets are still available here:https://t.co/ivdb9NJh53@NFT__BC pic.twitter.com/oZxtHbfHYN

— Carmilla (@CarmillaEtc) April 22, 2022

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“We’ve been planning NFT BC ever since the first meetup I put on in November and it’s finally coming to fruition,” said Sumantry, who will be speaking on a panel and showcasing a new piece she’ll be releasing on Foundation days before the event.

“I’ve had really great experiences connecting with the community at IRL events like Webcouv3r and NFTLA. There’s a lot of value to reinforcing our online connections in person.

Sumantry describes herself as a multidisciplinary creative focused on web3 as an artist, community-builder, and strategist. However, she shares that her first exposure to NFTs was through Mad Dog Jones, a multidisciplinary artist from Thunder Bay, ON, who will also be appearing at NFT BC.

Carmilla Sumantry/Submitted

“Mad Dog Jones in an Instagram live with two other artists who I didn’t know at the time, but now, I believe it was Fvckrender and Victor Mosquera,” explained Sumantry. “They were throwing around this terminology about NFTs and blockchain tech that I had no comprehension of. Then I started seeing more artists, who I had been following for years, talking about NFTs and I decided to look into it more.”

The artist describes going down the crypto rabbit hole, eventually publishing her first NFT in 2021 and receiving her first sale last summer.

“I dropped a five-piece collection called The Dream State, based around my vision for a utopian society and represented by liminal spaces,” said Sumantry. “My collector, Chikai, loved the whole collection so much that he bought all five pieces. That was a really significant moment for me, having the validation of a collector who believes in me enough to make a tangible investment in my art career with this medium.”

 

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A post shared by Carmilla Sumantry (@carmilla.etc)

Sumantry hopes that NFT BC will help encourage local artists to discover the possibility of Web3.

“Web3 has revolutionized creator autonomy. There was no real way for digital artists to monetize their work independently, before NFT technology,” added Sumantry. “Through tokenization, we can sell our work as verifiable assets, innovate with smart contracts, and collect royalties in the secondary market. The technology is ushering in a whole new wave of opportunities for artists.”

Chained to Illusions of Paradise (Carmilla Sumantry/Submitted)

In addition to Sumantry and Mad Dog Jones, other leading NFT artists and experts speaking at NFT BC include Fvckrender, Mosquera, Smeccea, Blake Finucane, Baeige, Richerd Chan, and Ledger.

A number of prizes will be given away during the event, including products from Ledger, Tantalus Labs, WKNDRS, and Covalent; NFTs from Hypothesis XYZ and WeedGang NFT; and five signed Mad Dog Jones skate decks.

NFT BC will keep the party going into the night with live music by WMNSTUDIES.

“The goal of this event is to strengthen the local community and inspire more initiatives and collaborations,” said Sumantry, who will soon be launching a Web3-focused art space called Dizzie Studio with Vancouver 3D artist Lydia Pourmand. “I hope that NFT BC can act as a conduit to bring more artists into the space and elevate the creative talent of Vancouver on a broader scale.”

NFT BC

When: May 1, 2022
Time: Doors 5 pm, Panels 6 to 8:30 pm, Party 9 pm to late
Where: Hollywood Theatre – 3123 W Broadway, Vancouver
Cost: Various; purchase online