Keanu Reeves and his longtime girlfriend, artist Alexandra Grant, have joined forces to advise the Futureverse Foundation, a new charitable initiative that aims to empower the next generation of artists through the use of blockchain technology and web3. The Futureverse Foundation, an offshoot of Non-Fungible Labs and FLUF World, a New Zealand-based NFT studio, intends to support projects through an internal nomination process. Grant and Reeves say they hope to fund five to ten projects per year. "Our mission is to investigate how web3 and metaverse technology can support communities from diverse backgrounds," Grant told last weekend from her Berlin studio. "We are still in the planning stages, but I believe that what we are doing will have a significant impact on artistic philanthropy in the coming months and years."
Grant, who has long been interested in the intersections of language and visual culture, hopes that the new foundation will complement her existing philanthropic and publishing efforts. She co-runs the Los Angeles-based imprint X Artists' Books, which recently published an edition for Asad Raza's exhibition "Diversions," which opened on June 25 at Protikus in Frankfurt, and includes contributions from Tacita Dean, Liberty Adrien, and Sophia Al Maria, among others.
In a statement, Reeves expressed his hope that the new initiative will help artists from diverse communities. "I am honored to be a part of Non-Fungible Labs' efforts in collaboration with Alexandra Grant for the extraordinary program and opportunity of the Futureverse Foundation, which supports artists and creators worldwide."
"It's important to us that we do our charitable part and use our influence to inspire the collective to be generous and kind," FLUF World co-founder Brooke Howard-Smith said in a statement. "Collaborating with a renowned philanthropist like Alexandra Grant is the first of many incredible initiatives we hope to launch in order to create a better future for artists everywhere." The Futureverse Foundation recently awarded curator Nana Oforiatta Ayim €100,000 ($104,500) for her concept of a mobile museum in this year's Ghanaian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. To be eligible for funding, projects must not include NFTs or other digital components. Rather, the goal is to use blockchain to provide transparency in the distribution of funds.
"What we're attempting to do is demonstrate how blockchain technology and the world of crypto can be used to create new forms of economic agency," Grant explained, referring to the "entitled" Elon Musk types. Grant also hopes to educate those who are skeptical about the blockchain and cryptocurrency spheres, and whether they can truly be used to support critical and community-driven art projects, which are frequently marginalized by the art market.
"By leveraging new forms of philanthropy, we hope to change the landscape of structural support in the arts in a way that demonstrates how technology and art can elevate artists at critical junctures in their careers," she explained. The Futureverse Foundation hopes to contribute to the transformation of traditional funding models toward a more "circular economy," not only in the art world, but also in entertainment, film, and music. "When I'm not fundraising, I'm making friends," Grant explained.
"The Futureverse Foundation is a work in progress," she added, "one that I hope will establish more horizontal and fair working conditions for artists and cultural producers from all over the world."
Selena Mattei