On 14 April 2021, the Birth Rites Collection carried out a feasibility study into how it might use blockchain for the benefit of artists and the future of the collection.
The feasibility study explored the possibilities for Birth Rites Collection to make editions of digital works as collectibles for sale. Working with experts in the field, we also considered the benefits and pitfalls of making transparent all contracts via blockchain ledger, evidencing provenance, automating reproduction revenue and guaranteeing profit share to all artists from any sales of works.
Helen Knowles states: “The Birth Rites Collection functions by receiving donations of artworks to the collection from artists. We have always aimed to support and promote each and every artist who donates work to the collection but it is evident that there needs to be a wider rethink about how cultural institutions support artists and their work. Birth Rites Collection feels primed to respond to this demand by engaging with artists, consultants, groups and organisations to change and respond in new ways using digital innovation to redistribute wealth and value in the cultural sector making it more equitable.We want to broadly understand how blockchain technology might better support the redistribution of wealth and power in the art ecosystem.”
Participants in the blockchain feasibility study were: Ruth Catlow (co-founder and artistic director of Furtherfield), Lucy Sollitt (curator The Future of the Art Market report), Penny Rafferty (co-founder blockchain-based micro-economy in the arts platforms, Ishtar Gate and The Black Swan DAO), Frances Liddell (PHD Researcher at University of Manchester), Joe Townsend (Principal Partnerships Manager, creative sectors, UCL Innovation and Enterprise), James Morgan (Known Origin and King’s College London) and the Blockchain Society. This preliminary study lays the foundation for a larger project to implement the blockchain into the management of the Birth Rites Collection.
Artist, Jaygo Bloom, one of the artists whose work founded BRC, will be collaborating with the collection to mint an NFC to highlight the possibility for better wealth distribution. In 2007 Bloom created a series of gifs and animations for the first ever BRC website now archived. In early June, the first of these works will be available for purchase, funds will be split between BRC and the artist and a future resale split will be inbuilt into the smart contract for both parties.