NFT · USD$69 Million · Art · WHAT?!

Zoom Webinar

Last month, Christie’s auctioned the most expensive digital NFT (Non-fungible token) artwork ever sold titled: “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” by Beeple for USD$69 Million.

Twobadour, the Asia-based buyer and steward of the world’s largest NFT fund (Metapurse), believes his acquisition of Beeple’s work has historical significance that is about to propel the art industry in a new direction.

Metapurse steward and NFT evangelist, Twobadour, will join Professors Matthew Jesse Jackson and Zhiguo He in a discussion of what it means to have the worlds of virtual currency and blockchain collide with the centuries-old art world. Will NFT art usher in a new era and transform the largely Euro-American-centric art industry? Will the art industry playing field finally be leveled and allow millions more young collectors to participate? Or is this simply another bubble fueled by cryptocurrency millionaires seeking to legitimize their participation in a fad that will go the way of Dutch tulips and 1990-era Dot-Coms?

Learn whether this is a significant and real disruption of a centuries-old industry and what aspirations are on the horizon for our guest who is forging a path into this new era.

April 29, 2021
8:30pm      Hong Kong | Beijing | Singapore
6:00pm      Delhi
2:30pm      Paris
1:30pm       London
7:30am      Chicago

Speakers

Anand Venkateswaran (a.k.a. Twobadour)
Visionary, Steward of Metapurse
Buyer of “Everydays: The First 5,000 Days” for USD$69 Million

Professor Matthew Jesse Jackson
Associate Professor of Art History
Chair, Department of Visual Arts
The University of Chicago

Professor Zhiguo He
Fuji Bank and Heller Professor of Finance
Director of Becker Friedman Institute for Economics in China
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Moderator

Mark Barnekow (MBA '88)
Executive Director
The University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong

Additional Resources to Prepare Before the Event

• NFTs, explained | The Verge (March 11, 2021)
• NFTs are shaking up the art world – but they could change so much more | Time (March 22,2021)
• The complete guide to NFTs | Quartz (April 20, 2021)

About /pɒp/Asia

The UChicago Yuen Campus /pɒp/Asia series will address topics that originate, revolve around and affect the Asia-Pacific Region. From music and anime to tattoos and the exploding interest in crypto currencies, we’ll explore the cultural goings-on in deep corners around the region and how they are influencing the rest of the world. Read more.