NFT.NYC is fun, but the real parties go down at the many, many, many, satellite events that pop up around New York City throughout the week of the conference. 

There were parties, galleries, photo walks, concerts, networking events, and dinners all over the city. 

I ran myself ragged over the 4 days running back and forth between Hudson Yards, the Lower East Side, and Brooklyn. 

On Wednesday, I walked so much, that by Thursday I was literally limping and howling with pain with every step. When I got home, I was down and out on the couch for 8 days with a gnarly flu. I regret nothing.

It was all completely worth it. I just wish I could've made a few clones of myself, because at any given hour, I was attending one event, while missing at least 3 others that I wanted to go to. It was wild, and I cannot wait until NFT.NYC 2024 just to ride high on that web3 community energy again.

Read on for my coverage of the NFT.NYC Satellite events that I did get to attend. 

#NGMI pic.twitter.com/0TWpq6nPT4

— Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography TEZ/ETH (@LAMPphotography) April 12, 2023

[caption id="attachment_746" align="alignright" width="150"]

ⓒ Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography 2013[/caption]

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Inside The NFT Gallery at 88 Clinton St., NYC

Victoria West (@vwestphoto_nb) kicked off NFT NYC 2023 by hosting the fabulous Tez Art Connect Party on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

Sponsored by Tezos Commons (@TezosCommons), the party was held at The NFT Gallery (@TheNFTGallery4). This permanent web3 gallery is located at 88 Clinton Street, NYC. 

The event featured the DJ skills of Guido Corleone (@Guido_Corleone), a live performance art piece by Andressa Furletti (@a_tchuca), and the art of over 100 Tezos artists as curated by Laurance Fuller, Andressa Furletti, DNS, TezQuakeAid, Patrick Amadon, Tipi, Leslie Spurlock, Aaron Vick, May, Joanne Enders, Toco Deco, and Victoria West.

The party was a perfect dream of a night. So much so that I devoted an entire blog post to it here. 

@aaronvick, @NaiboVisuals, @HindAbuelgasim, and @LeslieASpurlock

@a_tchuca performing #TakeASelfieOnMe

@LAMPphotography enjoying the AR Art Experience at Tez Art Connect

@aaronvick being... Aaron Vick

@baker_cajun announcing upcoming speakers

During #NFTNYC2023, Tezos hosted their own Tez-centric conference. The Tezos NFT Summit took place on April 12th and 13th, 2023 at Spring Studios in New York City. 

The event was wonderful! The gallery space was gorgeous, the line-up of speakers was impressive, top Tezos artists offered free portfolio reviews, and there was even an NFT art contest.

Tezos is my all-time favorite segment of web3, so this event also got its own post. You can read my full reviews of the Tezos NFT Summit 2023 here. 

A Video NFT on display as part of the "Melancholic Light" curation

Comp Stomp Studios 2023 ran between April 12th and 15th, 2023. 

The event was held at a gallery space in Lower Eastside Manhattan located at 70 Hester Street, New York, New York.

The 4-day event was hosted by Me Llamo Art, and featured 8 distinct gallery showings, curated by leading artists and collectors in the web3 art space. Curators included Monolith, Summer Wagner, Mindzeye, Jenna Dixon, Killiam Moore, Billy Dinh, Jeremy Perez-Cruz, illkoncept, Nevin Johnson, Brayden Hall, Chelsea Mealo, POSTWOOK, and Shay the Surrealist. 

On Wednesday, April 13th, I made my way from NFT.NYC in Hudson Yard to the Comp Stomp gallery with noted web3 artists, Joanne Enders, Hind Abuelgasim, May, Tony and Mina. 

Quick lift to the gallery yesterday with @HindAbuelgasim @NaiboVisuals & @LAMPphotography Thanks guys! @Beloveful pic.twitter.com/xjYRmSaFV7

— Joanne 🏴‍☠️ - It’s Little Things | (@itsltlthings) April 14, 2023

The walk from the venue to the car was hilarious. 

If you ever have to walk several blocks in New York City with a group of photographers in their element, half of whom are visiting New York City for the first time, please be prepared to move at a snail's pace as they stop every few feet because of some new photographic inspiration. 

We eventually made it to the Comp Stomp gallery to enjoy great art and good vibes. 

It was an unseasonably warm 80 degrees Fahrenheit in New York City all week, so we spent most of our daylight hours socializing on the sidewalk outside of the satellite galleries. 

Impromptu photoshoots were a constant occurrence at the satellite events. 

Warm weather, pleasant moods, artistic inspiration, and that magical New York City street lighting seemed to get everyone in the mood to pull out the camera (or 3) that they were hauling around in backpacks all around the city. 

I could have stayed at Comp Stomp for days, but there were more people to meet and more artist-led galleries to explore.

Fortunately, the Black Box event was being held just around the corner from Comp Stomp. 

Welcome to The Black Box NFT Art Fest. pic.twitter.com/rbtR0uwGAy

— Brian Cattelle (@briancattelle) April 13, 2023

For the second year, artists Brian Cattelle and Bryony Shearmur hosted a multi-day gallery experience at 134 Eldridge Street, NYC. 

This year the event was titled, "The Black Box NFT Art Fest" because they created a literal black box with one massive screen onto which they projected carefully curated slideshows of excellent art. 

Checking out @vwestphoto_nb at The Black Box NFT Art Fest. Sooooo good! pic.twitter.com/70ohNT8yUR

— Brian Cattelle (@briancattelle) April 13, 2023

People popped in and out of the Black Box to enjoy the art, and spent time on the sidewalk meeting friends in person for the first time, catching up with friends they had met in person the year before, and enjoying the warm spring air. 

The dinner at Peruvian restaurant, Popular was so cool, it deserved its own minted NFT. 

Reflections of the Mind by Joanne Enders @itsltlthings

Leslie Spurlock's husband bravely dined with Joanne Enders, Hind Abuelgasim, May, and me. 

We were all starving and slap happy from a day already filled to the brim with art and socializing. 

My children, not so thrilled about meeting Joanne and Juliet.

I majorly over extended myself on Tuesday and Wednesday of the event. When I woke up on day 3, I could not put weight on my right foot without immense pain.

I tried to rally and attend the main NFT.NYC 2023 convention, but it was clear that I needed an afternoon of rest.

Joanne Enders and Juliet Hass kindly accompanied me from Hudson Yards back to Rock Center where my husband and children were hanging out in the Nintendo store.

Joanne and Juliet convinced me to buy better shoes at the Sketchers store, and then I called it a day and went back to my brother's apartment. 

On Friday morning, I gave my talk at NFT.NYC, titled "The Promise of Tezos for NFT Artists." 

Soon after the talk, Rohit Vijay pointed out that B+H Photo was open for a few hours. The multi-level camera store had been closed for the entire week of the conference. for Passover. 

It had only opened on Friday from 10 am until 2 pm, and then it was closing again for its usual Saturday Sabbath.

Many of the photographers that were attending NFT.NYC rushed over in that short window to explore the store.

I got carried away by the spirt and purchased a preowned Nikon Z6 Full-Frame Mirrorless camera body. The rest of the day was spent giddily taking every picture I could think of with my awesome new toy. 

Poster Credit to the Off the Chain Event Hosts

The Friday night shenanigans kicked off at the Off the Chain party hosted by Joy, Redlions, Foodmasku, Regulars, Masnah, and Rey. 

The party got the vibes going in the right direction for the entire night. 

Andressa Furletti @a_tchucha dazzled the crowd with a performance of her "Take A Selfie on Me" piece. 

Foodmasku @foodmasku treated us to a live exhibition of his unique artwork by wearing a Bored Ape Yacht Club ice cream cake tied to his face. 

He wandered around the room with an ice cream scoop and a cake knife inviting guests to dig in and grab a slice. 

Aaron Vick @aaronvick bounced around with exuberant energy trying to recruit artists for his banana-based NFT collaboration. 

The party was an epic success. At the end, the hosts had to literally turn on all the lights and push us out the doors because no one wanted to leave. 

I followed Aaron and crew across the street to another party. It was great. 

There was an open bar, 4 floors of galleries and D+Js, and I ran into tons of people that I had connected with throughout the week.

Maybe someday I will learn where I was, and who was buying my drinks. 

Sadly, even the best things have to come to an end.

I snapped one last NFT.NYC picture as I waited outside the venue for my Uber back to Brookyln.

Of course I titled the piece, "The Party's Over" and I minted it as a Tezos NFT. 

"The Party's Over" by Lauren McDonagh-Pereira on Objkt.com

I spent the long Uber back to Brooklyn, reminiscing about a week of fun, friends, and web3 chaos while snapping pictures of the city as it passed me by out the car window. 

Until next year...

Thank you for reading!

Follow me on Twitter: @LAMPphotography

Check out my photography available for sale as ETH and TEZ NFTs.

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Lauren McDonagh-Pereira is a photographer from Massachusetts, USA. She captures the beauty of the world around her, favoring Nikon cameras and lenses. She is drawn to shooting landscapes, wildlife, nature, and people authentically enjoying life. 

Tweet me @LAMPphotography

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