This year, ArtReview’s Annual Power 100, the annual ranking of the most influential players in art, has placed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) at the top.
The first spot, in fact, mentions ERC-721, the specification for the nonfungible token on the Ethereum blockchain.
‘NFTs can represent ownership over digital or physical assets. We considered a diverse universe of assets, and we know you will dream up many more: Physical property – houses, unique artwork, Virtual collectables – unique pictures of kittens, collectable cards…’ Four years on from its publication, ‘ERC-721’, the specification for the ‘non-fungible token’ (on the Ethereum-based blockchain – other specifications exist) has upended the art market, bringing contemporary art and millennial meme culture crashing together.
This ranking serves as extra proof of how NFTs are transforming the art world. They offer artists a unique and broad range of opportunities to market and showcase their work, while giving collectors the chance to reach out, buy, and possess those unique and, sometimes, limited-edition works.
As mentioned on the website, “The Power 100 has long been viewed as a way of measuring how a change or development in one part of the artworld ecosystem affects the others.”
Over 30 panelists and collaborators spread around the world contributed to the creation of ArtReview’s list.
According to the official website, each author identifies who is shaping contemporary art in their locality based on three criteria: being active within the past year, shaping the current form of art being produced, and having a global impact rather than local.
