Gm,

Welcome to a very special Minutes.

Most of this email will be written by others, as I felt it is important to cover Art Basel and I had to attend vicariously through the community. So today:

I’ll share Basel takeaways from the brightest minds in our space

And here are GB and Dean to kick it off...

Minute # 1 - by @GBMedici​

What happened in Art Basel Miami surprised us all, but some things never change

Every year, as we approach events like Basel, NFT NYC & Frieze, I get a flood of DMs from artists asking for advice on how they can make the most of their time.

Here are 3 lessons that have helped me, and might help you:

- Quality time is king. Some of my best insights from Basel Miami came from 1 on 1 conversations, not from panels or parties. Pick 5 people you want to get to know well and spend time 1 on 1 with them, perhaps over an espresso and pineapple pizza.

- Keep your schedule open. Instead of RSVPing your way to a packed calendar, keep your schedule open except for the few events you must attend. The magic of events like Basel & NFT NYC is…everyone is there. Random events / dinners / activities will pop up and you don’t want to miss them by packing your schedule.

- Pace yourself. You want to make the most of the entire trip, not just the first day or two. I was taught this valuable lesson by KDean, before my first Basel.

Speaking of…

Minute # 2 - by @KDean​

For me this was one of the best Art Basel experiences, considering market conditions. The chance to put down the screens and be face to face with our online friends is priceless.

What I have noticed with who is still left in the space is that there is a real focus and vision that is being executed everyday. Our trad art friends are coming, and we are just getting started in having the most incredible viewing experiences with digital art.

Grateful to have spent a productive week with new and old friends/artists!

Minute # 3 - AI now owns writing

In case you missed it, ChatGPT wrote an entire Twitter thread for me! Some say it lacked my usual sizzle… so perhaps this old dogg still has a few years left…

Cozomo de’ Medici @CozomoMedici 1/ Many people see Leonardo da Vinci as a genius who never struggled or experienced self-doubt, but the truth is quite different 👇⚔️🎨 pic.twitter.com/ZxPgaTWamO December 7th 2022 329 Retweets 1,065 Likes

Minute # 4 - Vintage x Blockchain

If you’re a long time reader of the Minutes, you know I'm a big fan of projects that connect the digital and physical. So when I learned about MNTGE (pronounced "Mintage") and the team they assembled, I jumped on the opportunity to become an investor. MNTGE is building a digital wearables brand that's putting vintage fashion on the blockchain. The team is led by Sean Wotherspoon, a world-renowned designer who has collaborated with both Nike and Adidas, alongside his co-founders Brennan Russo, and my old fren Nick Adler.

On Thursday, December 15th, MNTGE is releasing a pass that grants priority access to their designer collection drops and the future MNTGE marketplace. You can join their public allow list here. Only 1,500 MTNGE passes will be minted at 0.5 ETH each.

Disclosure: I will be minting and potentially buying on secondary. As always, DYOR and don't invest anything you can't afford to lose.

Minute # 5 -

Without further ado… The 27 Takeaways From Art Basel Miami

1. ​VonMises, collector - “Come for the art, stay because the traffic is so bad you can’t afford the Uber ride.”
2. ​ Avery Akkineni, Vayner3 - “Miami Art Week has become an important cultural convergence event - building upon its foundation in the art world to attract music, fashion, and now Web3 communities - though opportunities for true cross pollination are clear.”
3. ​Sam Spratt - “I had a conversation on a fiery rooftop which showed me that while there is a bridge being built between our little land of digital art and the grand ancient art world which predates and dominates it: only those who truly live our own infinite universes and values—who do not dabble around in others—can create beacons bright enough and inspiring enough to cross the bridge to this side at all.”
4. ​Vincent Van Dough, AOTM - "Despite the bear market, the digital art community remains strong as ever, those who stick around will be rewarded."
5. ​Snowfro, Art Blocks - “#sober(ish) Basel is life hack of 2022”
6. ​Justin Aversano, QuantumNFT - “Sculptures are in 😎”
7. ​Tom Sachs - “The most important experiences I had at Basel weren’t in Miami, they were in the metaverse."
8. ​Grant Riven Yun - “Despite market turmoil, Basel 2022 has shown me just how big of an impact web3 has made in the art world.”
9. ​Priyanka Desai, Tribute Labs - "The optics around crypto are terrible right now, but the energy and innovation was on display at Basel. Activations and hardware around digital art has leveled up (full wall projections at Refraction and the Danvas screens were dope). It felt healthy and real, and while vibrant, more normal and less phrentic."
10. ​Alberto Chehebar, contemporary collector - “Seeing all the fairs packed with people. The interest in art is as big as ever. There is a little more time to make decisions but if you sleep on it, you lose the work."
11. ​ AC, collector + 6529 Fund - "Art you can experience like the Random International Living room and Bright Moment's boreta audio visual performance had more impact on me and those I viewed alongside than the stuff at Basel/the fairs. It’s going to be hard for canvas to compete"
12. ​Other World - “The special time spent with friends we talk to frequently, but rarely get to see in person.”
13. ​Martina Negro, Brevan Howard - “Great social gathering of people but the art still fails to be correctly represented. With the exception of a few focused exhibitions, digital art suffers with poorly curated displays of the artworks.”
14. ​Pablo Fraile, collector - “The space is maturing, moving away from hype and using this amazing technology to facilitate great art! Art is winning!”
15. ​Dani Loftus, DRAUP - “The space is subdividing - long gone are the days where everyone ‘into nfts’ was crammed into the same party or conference. This basel everyone from artblocks maxis, to digital fashion fans and defi degens had unique events tailored to their communities and interests. ‘Web3 generalizers’ take note!”
16. ​Keith Grossman, TIME - “The passion to build is real.”
17. ​Seedphrase, collector - “It was incredible to see industry leaders really step up and be a beacon during these difficult times. They say bear markets are for building and that was very apparent during my time at Art Basel. I’ve never been more excited for the future of Web3.”
18. ​Casey Coyle, SuperRare - “This year the veil of hype and BS was lifted from our eyes and we could finally see who will be here for the long haul, we finally saw the brands, artists, collectors, builders and institutions who will help drive web3 and the space into its full potential.”
19. ​P_Azuro , collector - “I was surprised at how collaborative the people who work in this field are! These people know how to dream together and they dream big!”
20. ​Jeanne Anderson, Danvas - “Elevated art from dedicated and talented artists will always rise above market volatility.”
21. ​Frank DeGods, DeGods & y00ts - “ The real product market fit for NFTs is digital collectibles combined with die-hard communities.”
22. ​Nicole Sales Giles, Christie’s - “This year, Miami Basel had a great energy and terrific exhibitions. At the Web3 experiences, it’s great that so many artists choose to participate in person, offering collectors direct engagement opportunities that rarely happen at the traditional art events surrounding the fair. Aside from Christie’s exhibition at The Gateway, we loved checking out the Michael Majerus exhibition at ICA - he’s a pioneer of his generation combining painting and digital media.”
23. ​GMoney, 9dcc - “Web3 might've had a bigger presence there this year than last year.”
24. ​FEWOCiOUS - "It’s just really nice to hug my friends and run around in the sand and yell about our dreams."
25. ​BatSoupYum, collector + 6529 Fund - “Much of trad art still thinks we're all weird, but the dam is starting to break a bit. I went to a number of events where trad art representation was prominent. They're coming for your JPEGs ;-)”
26. ​Claire Silver - “We’ve left the old cycle and begun the new one: the electric energy of those who stayed, those who came new, and those special few who empowered both to know they belong here—is proof of what will come.”
27. ​Beeple - “Fuck the bear market, real mf’s not going anywhere”

—

Did you enjoy this issue of Medici Minutes? Please give me feedback on Twitter. Let me know which Takeaway was your favorite, and be sure to tag the person who contributed it, as well as #MediciMinutes. And if you have a fren or your followers would benefit from these insights, I always appreciate the shares.

All my best,

~CdM