NFT Art World: The Influence of Decentralized Systems on the Development of Novel Online Creative Communities and Cooperative Practices

Abstract

Reporting on the Non-Fungible Token (NFT) ecosystem overwhelmingly focuses on the community that drove its growth and price volatility, gaining widespread media attention in 2021. This overlooks the communities developing novel creative practices on NFT platforms. Interviews with 16 creatives utilizing NFTs reveal a vast Art World: networks of distinct communities maturing into cooperative ecosystems with unique artistic subcultures, philosophies, and interactions. We observe unique qualities of these decentralized distribution platforms and identify patterns of activity comparable to those of traditional art worlds. We identify how aspects of these systems might subvert, or replicate, existing systems of power, value, and access. The impacts of policy and platform design on online creative communities in the NFT Art World carry valuable lessons for developers of digital interventions into the creative industry, exemplifying pertinent considerations for the future of creative labor and cooperation online.