Summary
Botto has been invited by Fellowship to exhibit at the new "The Digital Art Mile" Fair in conjunction with Art Basel in Switzerland June 10-16. In the interest of building up Botto’s profile beyond the crypto art world and in the AI art canon more broadly, as well as building up to the proposed solo Sotheby’s show in October, this BIP proposes to place Err Hold for sale at the show for 150,000 Euros (161k USD).
Rationale
Our strategic priority for Botto is to produce cultural catalysts for the artist and to reach new collectors and audiences. Fellowship has been doing arguably the strongest AI curation as of late, and they have put together what is shaping up to be an historic show of AI art during Art Basel (Basel) where the art elite descend for the week.
The provisional list of artists exhibited includes our own Mario Klingemann, Elman Mansimov, Gene Kogan, Helena Sarin, Sophia Crespo, Holly Herndon + Matt Dryhurst, Damien Henry and Niceaunties.
They have the entire ground floor of space25 (around 2-3k sqft) for the The Digital Art Mile Fair being organized by Georg Bak, which itself is looking like a major moment for NFT art taking greater prominence in the art world.
Above the Fellowship show on two smaller floors will be the Sigg Foundation and Asprey. There will be a series of events hosted at the space itself (by Fellowship, Sigg and Asprey) and we anticipate a lot of interest from not just Web3 but also traditional collectors and curators.
They are proposing Botto to be in the largest room, on the far wall pictured (where there is a single artwork). It would be featured alongside historic works from DALL-E 1 and DALL-E 2, continuing to Err Hold by Botto demonstrating the progression of human + machine collaboration, with the machine taking an even greater role.
They have proposed doing a one-off exhibition print that could be sold with the NFT. This would be an additional cost of $3-5k after accounting for framing.
The sale would mean a new high for Botto since the 4th ever mint Blossoming Cadaver sold to Hashes DAO in November 2021 for $184k USD.
Overall, this opportunity provides a key moment in the calendar and a valuable test ahead of a solo show at Sotheby’s for: Botto’s ability to make use of a culturally significant venue, placing a Genesis with a non-crypto native collector, the increasing price of Genesis works.
Proposal Specification
Exhibit Err Hold at Fellowship’s floor at space25 with a sale price of 150k Euros during Art Basel from June 10-16.
Exhibition Print
A one-off, framed exhibition print will be created for between $3-5k USD. It would be between 1m and 1.5m square. They are testing formats for the best solution, hence the price range.
The buyer would receive the physical work as part of their purchase of the NFT.
Fellowship would take the risk of covering the costs of printing and logistics upfront, which would be recouped before considering the commission split.
Commission
Fellowship’s commission would be 30% after covering the cost of the physical. Estimate take home for Botto is $161k - $5k * .7 = $109k USD
Rewards
50% of net revenue would be distributed evenly across active rewards for the 12 weeks following the receipt of payment.
If the work goes unsold
Fellowship will have exclusivity on selling the work for 3 months after the show ends June 16. After that date the work will return to the DAO if still unsold.
Criteria of success (if a larger project)
Sale to a non-crypto native collector
Press coverage from the sale and the show
Increased demand for Botto 1/1s and Genesis
Risks/Mitigations
This sells one of Botto’s 6 remaining Genesis works in treasury as we are considering selling others for a solo show with Sotheby’s. Risk of this not selling to a non-crypto collector.
Mitigation is to do only 1-2 Genesis for Sotheby’s (down from proposed 2-3), justified by the Basel event contributing to the overall success of the Sotheby’s show and Botto’s growing profile in this crucial moment for AI art.
