Become web3 literate and start imagining new use cases for the arts and culture.
By merging in-depth discussions and education with real prototyping sessions, the WAC Fellowship is offering to 12 cultural institutions to bring blockchain literacy within the art sector and prototype use-cases for web3 technology in the artworld and the culture sector as a whole.
Please note that our second cohort is underway. The next call for applicants will launch in August 2023.
Understanding the WAC Fellowship program
As arts institutions navigate social, environmental, and economic flux, web3 offers a new world of challenges and opportunities. While institutions struggle to find their way into web3, a generation of crypto-native collectors have their sights on the legacy artworld, and new protocols challenge the meaning of the word âcurationâ. But in an ecosystem of $69 million .jpgs and promises to change the world, how can the arts and culture sector see through the hype and build a sustainable institution with the blockchain?
The WAC Fellowship program is offered to twelve arts and culture institutions by We Are Museums and TZ Connect, with the support of the Tezos ecosystem, in collaboration with Blockchain Art Directory 2.0.
The WAC Fellowship programâs research is currently focused on three areas:
BeFantastic (India), C/O Berlin (Germany), Light Art Space Foundation (Germany), NXT Museum (The Netherlands), Octobre Numérique (France), Signal Festival (Czech Republic), Van Gogh Museum (The Netherlands), Villa Albertine (United States)
Who is part of our ongoing cohort?
ACMI - Australian Centre for the Moving Image (Australia), Belvedere Museum (Austria), Haus der Kunst MĂŒnchen (Germany), HEK - House of Electronic Arts (Switzerland), French Ministry of Culture (France), Institute for Sound and Music (Germany), MusĂ©e d'Orsay and MusĂ©e de l'Orangerie (France), Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka (Sri Lanka), National Taras Shevchenko Museum (partnering with ArtAegis and Modern Art Research Institute) (Ukraine), The Reel Store (United Kingdom), The Royal College of Art (United Kingdom) and the Wooko Makandie Foundation (The Netherlands).
Success story from the last cohort
Light Art Space Foundation exhibition: âLife After BOBâ by Ian Cheng (Berghain Halle, Berlin)
After pursuing the 8-week fellowship, the LAS Foundation team felt ready to experiment further with blockchain technology and integrate a component in their upcoming exhibition. The prototypes built during the WAC Hackathon served as inspiration on how to engage with visitors on-site through an interaction with the blockchain, and especially live-minting.
TZ Connect provided support to turn the idea into completion, and the LAS Foundation and Ian Chengâs teams worked on integrating the live minting within the visitor journey and the artistic concept of the exhibition so it could be fully and seamlessly integrated. The presentation of the NFT experience called âTRUE NAMEâ can be found here.
Understanding your role as a fellow
Fellows will be expected to attend the training, co-creation workshop and mentoring sessions provided. In the middle of the program, we will write with you or your team a brief for an innovative use-case of web3 for the arts and culture sector. The brief will be submitted to our online global hackathon that will run for four weeks, where teams can pick up your idea to turn it into a reality. During the hackathon, you or your team can support the team of developers and designers who will contribute to the realization of your project.
In practical terms, this means a commitment of a minimum of 3 hours for 16 weeks.
Despite its current fame, web3 is still in its very early days. That so much core technology doesnât exist yet can be a challenge, but itâs also an opportunity for us to build projects that could have a lasting influence on the sector as it develops.
Our program does not seek to deliver finished products, but to experiment with the building blocks that do exist and build inspiring prototypes that illustrate a positive future for arts and culture institutions in the web3 space.
To make these prototypes real, weâre partnering with a selection of web3 tech providers during the last phase of the WAC Fellowship, called the WAC Factory. We will run a four-week incubator with the talented developers and designers required to help make your ideas real.
Youâll have the opportunity to work alongside these developers, ensuring the project stays on track and aligned with the institutionâs needs and ambitions.
Letâs get practical
Over the course of the fellowship, you will:
WAC Fellowship Courses Program
- Introduction to web3 (history, ideology)
- Onboarding on web3 (cryptocurrencies, ledger, wallet, NFTs)
- Security and data storage in the web3 space
- DAOs and governance in the web3 space
- Social and environmental impact in the web3 space
- Blockchain technology for cultural institutions (case studies, opportunities, and limits)
- The web3 art space (marketplaces, communities, players, companies)
- Embark your colleagues in their web3 journey
- Communication and marketing in the web3 space
- Community building and community engagement in the web3 space
The WAC Fellowship timeline
November 18th â Application period begins
December 31st at noon UTC â Application period ends
January 10th â Final cohort results announced
January 16th at noon UTC â Intro meeting (pre-selection)
January 26th â WAC Fellowship kick-off meeting
January 30th â WAC Fellowship Season 2 starts
April 24th â WAC Factory Kick-off
May 21th â WAC Fellowship + WAC Factory Season 2 ends
Want more?
Join our weekly discussion about web3 for the arts and culture > Register here