APRIL 10TH, 2021
Graffiti Queens is the largest all-woman, no artist limit, no rules apply, no fees, no age limit and non-platform specific art exhibition in metaverse history. The event is a worldwide celebration of women artists. For one week each year, the women of the NFT world ‘show up and show out.’ At last year’s event, celebrities took part alongside some of the most famous NFT creators.
From 3rd to 10th April, the exhibition this year is more spectacular and welcomes many women street artists. Some artists minted for the first time to take part. Others heard about it through Instagram and aren’t even on Twitter, which means the word on NFTs is spreading and reaching many people. Graffiti Queens is a beautiful merging of worlds, and people of all backgrounds and ages are welcome to participate. Some graffiti artists wrapped their actual graffiti around the metaverse galleries, bringing colour and fun to the streets of the metaverse.
It is fantastic to welcome back artists from last year’s show, many of whom stepped up and took on a leading role to put on this event. It takes a lot of coordination to make an event happen. No one person can do it all. It takes a village, especially when no people are giving their time for free. The artists are passionate about this event and are keen to shape it and make the show their own. This year, many people helped organize the exhibition, including Aisha, from Makersplace, SmartLove aka Sassy, Alina Loseva, and more. There were also many gallery helpers, including Ben Horning from BBstudios and Claudia Pawlak, to name a few. They spent hours adding artwork to venues and Valiant even built entirely new spaces for the event.
The NFT art community is a welcoming place for female artists. Sophy Robson, a major street artist and new to NFTs and the community, was having a tough time knowing who to trust to get started and help mint her genesis work. OG and Crypto Art Royalty, Crypto Yuna and the rest of the group were there to support anyone new, with advice on crypto wallets and how to stay safe from scammers.
Lambie was one of the many women who stepped up and took over the leadership role from last year’s organizer Crypto Yuna. Before long, Lambie was overwhelmed with the sheer number of tasks for such an enormous festival. The team asked Crypto Yuna to jump back in. Crypto Yuna was modest about her efforts and keen to highlight the work of many who helped. She said, ‘I don’t want it to look like I’m the only one. That’s very important to me. People volunteered left and right.’ That’s the great thing about the community. Everyone jumps in to do what they can.
Challenges
The organization behind the scenes was wild and crazy, but the team worked hard to pull the event together.
I spoke to my contacts at physical galleries in London and Miami. They were interested in hosting exhibitions for female NFT artists. But I have a confession to make. While the show is led by women volunteers supported/sponsored by male allies from the NFT community, the project falls under the umbrella of the male-owned Graffiti Kings, which became a sticking point. The gallery owners came under pressure from their local community with warnings that other artists might boycott their gallery in the future if they hosted the event. Naturally, the galleries were nervous, and the prospects fell through.
One volunteer caught COVID and had to step down from hosting Twitter spaces. Rap artist happyraps was planning to sing at the event but was unfortunately in a car accident. She hopes to attend future events once she recovers. Harrison First stepped in and compiled a special DJ set for the party at the Fours Seasons rooftop party in Cryptovoxels.
Galleries
Various NFT communities came together to support the artists and offered to share their gallery spaces. Bitpixi asked the Cryptovoxels community for galleries and several volunteered. In addition, there is a special tribute in memory of Aniah Blanchard, who was kidnapped and tragically died at the age of 19. Several artists stepped forward to create unique artwork for the Aniahs Heart foundation, which is on display at the Sugar Gallery in Cryptovoxels during the exhibition.
The Four Seasons Gallery
The Smiling Yellow File Gallery
Crypto Yuna said, “The night before the event, I was worried about people finishing their builds in time, so I went to the Cryptovoxels Discord and asked for a gallery space. Cluny_the_Rat stepped forward and allowed me to completely tear down what was on 3 Cycas Terrace and build a site for over 160 works to make sure no artist would miss out. That is extremely important to us. We want the artists to feel special, loved and show their works beautifully in the Metaverse. We hope it boosts sales for everyone. This year has been positive energy across the board, and we are all very proud of it.”
The exhibition showcases NFTs by over 200 artists and 400+ eclectic artworks.
Music
In addition to the galleries, music, videos and a special Hub were built in Vegas City, Decentraland Tannhauser Gate built a whole new gallery housing 120 artworks and Valiant built a train station especially for Graffiti Queens. The exhibition also presented Metaverse after-parties throughout the week hosted by the Graffiti Kings and GK Radio Livestream.
Launch Party at the Smiling Yellow File Gallery
Angie Taylor agreed to hold a special event. A mini exposé Graffiti Queers to highlight LGBTQIA+ artists in the historic London Gallery in Cryptovoxels with DJ sets from herself, Eclectic Method, and Vector Meldrew.
BBstudios created POAP badges and within 3 hours, 1000 were claimed. The organizers were all blown away that so many people visited in such a short time.
As the 2022 event draws to a close, all the hard work has been worth it, as this year’s Graffiti Queens exhibition has been an incredible success! There is a perception that NFTs and graffiti art are mainly the domain of male artists. Roll on Graffiti Queens 2023! The next time anyone asks, ‘Where are all the women in NFTs?’ You know what to tell them.
