Curve launches NFT auction in bid to raise cash for London theatres
Fintech Curve has joined the NFT bandwagon and launched an auction in a bid to raise cash for London’s theatres that have been left devastated by the pandemic.
Non-fungible tokens are cryptocurrency takens which certify the ownership of a unique digital file using blockchain. They have become a way for creatives to raise cash during the pandemic with Kings of Leon one of the first artists to sell NFTs.
From today a collection of five Curve-branded figures will be up for sale with the proceeds going to the Theatre Support Fund+, which supports the capital’s theatre community.
“NFTs hold genuine promise to change how we think about art ownership and enjoyment as a purely physical experience,” Curve founder and chief executive Bialick said.
Collectors will need to connect to an Ethereum wallet to bid for the digital images, which will be on sale on crypto marketplace Rarible.com until 19 April.
“The theatre community is part of what gives London its vibrancy and diversity, a combination that made Curve choose the UK capital as our HQ,” Bialick said. “I am proud that Curve is working with Theatre Support Fund_ on one of the first examples of using digital art to make a tangible difference to society.”
The UK’s theatre industry contributes £10.8bn to the economy and provides major British exports with West End hits like War Horse, but they have been closed for essentially a year.
Nearly 40 per cent of London’s theatre and art workers have been made redundant since the start of the pandemic a year ago.
“In 10 months, and since the UK’s first lockdown, the Theatre Support Fund_ has helped thousands of workers in the industry who have had no, or limited work, since theatres shut over a year ago,” the fund’s co-founders Damien Stanton and Chris Marcus said.
“Through partnerships such as this, we will be able to support those artists further, until the industry can be back making theatre again.”