Museums and NFTs: What Early Experiments Can Teach Us

Human ONE by the world’s most famous digital artist Beeple / Alamy

A look back at museum NFT experiments from 2021–2022, and the questions they raised about public purpose, rights and resources.

NFT stands for non-fungible token. The early projects discussed here attracted attention during a period of speculation about digital art and museum income. They are historical examples, rather than a description of today’s market or a recommendation to buy or sell.

Museums’ work to digitise collections and improve access does not itself require a token. The auction of Beeple’s Everydays in 2021 helped bring NFT art into public debate, but a prominent sale is not evidence of a sustainable museum business model.

A detail of the Beeple NFT artwork ‘Everydays: The First 5000 Days’ / Alamy

The British Museum and Universal Hip Hop Museum were among the institutions exploring the format. Discussion of the metaverse also raised questions about how online spaces might be curated and funded. The practical question was what a particular service would offer, who would use it and why it needed a token.

But as MuseumNext discussed in 2022 with Chris Cummings, founder and CEO of Iconic Moments, an NFT marketplace supplier, the early boom created an “arena of speculative markets where people start to believe that simply minting (creating) NFTs and selling them via a platform will immediately make them huge sums of money”.

Chris’s take on museums and NFTs is: “I think an NFT should be something that you approach in the same way you approach an exhibition and it’s focused on creating or driving a story, driving impact and doing something that should stand on its own two feet.”

Large NFT websites have little curation or quality control

The alternative, as Chris vividly puts it when discussing the process of sifting through NFTs on one of the leading platforms is: “There’s no curation. It’s like going to Walmart on Black Friday.”

He continues, “The other problem is that when you see an NFT, all you are seeing is the price and the history, that’s it. It’s literally, ‘Here’s the digital item, sell the digital item’. And for us that misses the point of what a museum is and what our responsibility is.”

Taking a more curated, authentic approach to the curation and trading of NFTs in line with the values of the museum is, in the view of people like Chris, the best way for cultural institutions to navigate this brave new world.

This approach has been exemplified by the likes of the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami which incorporated NFTs successfully into their permanent collections in 2021.

Creating something different for Museums with NFTs

One question raised by these early projects was what an NFT added: was the offer a digital edition of an artwork, or a distinct service or experience?

Augmented reality specialist, Perception Codes was promoting “Holo-NFTs” in 2022 as a way to present 2D artworks or 3D photogrammetry models in extended reality. This was a vendor proposal; augmented reality does not require an NFT.

The Morpheus Project from Perception Codes is an educational, virtual world that incorporates historical artefacts, immersive learning, and NFTs.

MuseumNext reported on Perception Codes’ work with the Imperial War Museum and Science Museum Group to develop holographic classroom experiences. That description does not demonstrate improved learning or that a token was necessary.

A reasonable question here would be: Why make an immersive experience into an NFT?

An NFT project needs a clear account of what changes hands. The token may identify an edition or link to media, but it does not by itself transfer copyright in that media. The museum should explain the licence, the hosting arrangements, the buyer’s access and what happens if a supplier closes. A token record does not itself authenticate the underlying artwork. The U.S. Copyright Office and USPTO study discusses the distinction between NFTs and the intellectual-property rights associated with them.

NFT Art on the gallery walls

Revenue was another motivation during the pandemic. A sale, licence or paid classroom service may have different terms and responsibilities; none should be treated as dependable income before costs and obligations are understood. A token is not necessary for every digital membership, exhibition or educational service.

Claims that decentralisation would automatically widen access also need testing against the actual service: accounts, devices, payment requirements, rights and ongoing support can all affect participation.

Not everyone agrees that Museums should use NFTs

The early experiments also raised questions about authority to licence collection images, partner responsibilities and the share of proceeds reaching the museum. These depend on project terms and applicable rules, rather than a universal NFT policy.

Michelangelo, Doni Tondo, 1505-06 / Uffizi Galleries

Environmental claims in context

Environmental comparisons also need a date and a named network. Ethereum moved to proof of stake in September 2022, substantially reducing the network’s energy use. That change makes a pre-transition estimate unsuitable as a description of Ethereum today, and it does not remove the need to consider the rest of a project’s infrastructure. Estimates depend on the method, period and network; a network-level estimate is not a measure of the complete footprint of one museum project.

Currency value is not a resale price

The earlier discussion of the British Museum’s Hokusai NFT initiative compared the dollar value of a sum of ETH at different dates. That is not an observed resale price for a particular NFT and should not be described as a documented loss on resale. Museums considering such proposals need to assess financial exposure separately from hoped-for revenue.

Examples of NFTs in the Museum space

Several museum projects were discussed in 2021–2022 as possible approaches to fundraising.

Well, as mentioned above, the British Museum and Uffizi Gallery are amongst the first entrants into this space with the intention of raising funds. Other examples from that period include the Whitworth Art Gallery which, in collaboration with Vastari Labs, have minted an NFT of The Ancient of Days by William Blake with the intention of raising funds for community organisations in the local area.

Read more about the Whitworth panel’s discussion of social purpose.

Another eye-catching example of museums and NFTs in action can be found at the Universal Hip Hop Museum. The Bronx-based museum partnered with blockchain platform NEAR Protocol to create a series of NFTs called Hip Hop Heads featuring famous artists from the genre’s history.

The project offered a way to connect with music fans. What a purchaser received and any permitted reuse depended on its terms; the token alone did not protect intellectual property.

It’s worth noting that some museums are taking the more conservative but intelligent step of using their role as forums for cultural and intellectual debate in order to explore NFTs as intriguing subject matter in seminars – rather than diving in with their NFT programmes in earnest. The New Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum offer just three prime examples of this.

Read more about a 2021 guest perspective on NFT art.

Questions before a museum commits

For a museum, the starting question is the public purpose of the experiment. Define who benefits and why a token is needed, then compare the proposal with a simpler membership, donation or digital-publishing route. Set out the resources and obligations before treating potential revenue as a result.

Agree rights clearance, public benefit, custody, media hosting, partner responsibilities, financial exposure and an exit plan before committing. The plan should explain what happens to access and support if a supplier closes or the museum ends the project.

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