PRESS RELEASE
One of the world’s most important technology and innovation events, Web Summit 2021, is taking place in Lisbon (November 1-4).
Summary
NFT enters the Portuguese sanctity
The topics are many and all of current interest, especially regarding the entrepreneurship of the future. The venue will be the Altice Arena, and among the many speeches, that of Edmundo Martìnho, president of the Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa, will have great attention. In fact, just today, there will be a discussion with an intervention centered by Martinho at 11.45 am at the Panda Conf on Philanthropy and Art.
Specifically, on the use of Non Fungible Tokens as a means of doing charity work. SCML, the Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa, is a 100-year-old Portuguese organization (with more than 500 years of enterprise, to be precise). It is also a non-profit association that pursues issues related to social problems by supporting less fortunate categories. It houses the Museum with the adjoining church of Sao Roque. In these spaces there is one of the largest and most important religious collections in Europe.
What is most striking in terms of avant-garde and technological innovation is SCML’s announcement of its entry into the world of NFTs. In fact, the launch of a specific brand with a dedicated marketplace has been decided and planned.
Artenik is the platform for NFTs
First of all, the intent is to be able to share globally the works of art and wonderful collections kept within the spaces of the SCML.
That leads to interaction with all visitors on other levels as well. The platform will be called Artenik and will be an incentive, especially for artists, to want to share their works, selling them directly and thus creating a basis to support and protect a part of the Portuguese heritage. The first NFT drop will be launched in December and will be directly drawn from the collection of sacred art housed within the Casa da Misericordia. This same anticipatory drop will feature 13 treasures divided into three specific categories: painting, artifacts, and relics. The themes will be those of the Nativity and the Saints.
Edmundo Martihno expressed himself as follows:
“In Lisbon, SCML enjoys a warm relationship with residents and visitors to the museum and church, and we see a way of extending that relationship globally, and to new generations, through NFTs. We have 500 years’ worth of priceless treasures from baroque art to graffiti art that we are keen to share with lovers of art, antiquities, and religious history. By creating our own digital window, Artentik, people can view our unique cultural assets, own a digital replica of them through NFTs, and know that the proceeds will be used for social enterprise activities. This is a cultural democratization of museums, and we are delighted to embrace it.”
Artentik, www.artentik.com, is built on Polygon, Ethereum’s Layer 2 solution, which blockchain offers increased transaction speed, and proof of stake consensus algorithm, leading to minimal environmental impact. Payment for NFTs will only be accepted in cryptocurrency. Â
