When we asked some of our fellows about how cultural institutions should begin exploring web3, they emphasized how valuable it was to talk to other institutions about this. Keeping up with what colleagues in the space are doing and understanding the challenges they've had to overcome will help your team understand the road ahead.
They also stressed the importance of hands-on experience and practical projects: an "emphasis on doing over endless theoretical road trips of possibility. Tangible examples, practical outcomes." While one-off workshops are a good introduction, they can't give you the real experience of what's possible and what's not: the places where the technology needs more time to develop, and the novel experiences you can create for your audience today.
One of the watch-words in web3 is "community", for all kinds of cultural and technological reasons. As a sector that emerged in the age of Twitter, it was a well-connected niche that retained that sense of camaraderie as it grew into a trillion-dollar industry. And as an on-chain entity, a community of token holders (whether currency or NFTs) is a fact that exists independently of whatever social platform its members are currently talking and collaborating on.
So if an institution wants to explore web3, there's no better way to start than having a small team immerse themselves in one or more web3 communities. That could mean joining the Discord servers for web3 arts publications like Outland, going to events, or attending web3 exhibits at events like Miami Art Week, it could also mean talking to other arts and culture professionals at virtual sessions like WAC Weekly.
WAC Weekly is a program of weekly live discussions on the latest web3 news for museums. Register here to join us.