On July 25th, 2023, Gotham, New York City’s first legalized cannabis and cultural concept store, collaborated with Bright Moments Digital Art Gallery, hosting an interactive event of digital art and experiencing the culture celebrated at Gotham. Gotham is located in a prime trendy area of the city, right between Soho and the iconic St. Marys Street. Gotham has two floors; the bottom is its cannabis and retail area, and the top is where the art gallery resides. I had quite the experience, so I am excited to share my journey with you all.
When I first heard of digital art and NFTs, it left a big question mark in my head: What exactly is it? NFTs have been trending and created for the past year and have been thriving ever since. NFTs are an outlet where artists, based on the faith of probability based on an algorithm, that technology will create beautiful digital pieces, easily shared on your phone and through the digital atmosphere. Now you may ask, “How does that work? How can technology create art?” Well, you’re in for a treat, because I have the answers. The artist Jimena Buena Vida’s collection is particularly intriguing because of the digital platform media she uses to create these vibrant pieces of artwork. Jimena Buena Vida is a Latino abstract artist who merges from computer science with modern art. Vida’s goal is to push the limits of traditional art and add a twist. She uses technology to allow the NFT’s algorithm to randomly choose based on probability, to create its unique piece. Each piece of art that appears on the digital screen or is sent to your coin-based digital wallet isn’t the same. They are all one-of-a-kind unique pieces. Jimena Buena Vida calls this collection “Epiphanies”. Vida’s collection aims to celebrate the unknown; these creations unlock different dimensions of possibility, chance, and the aspect of existence. Vida’s inspiration for this occurred in the post-pandemic world. Everything that we once knew has changed. How we adapt to the constantly advancing technology is our choice. I think it’s beautiful and very interesting to test the limits of modern art and technology. It’s quite a controversial conversation and topic, but the more research and experience I have myself with, these open my eyes to a whole new world.
Below are some sample pieces of Jimena Buena Vida’s pieces, they can be found on the Bright Moments Art Gallery on their website bright moments.io for more information. As stated above, Bright Moments is a digital art gallery that started in California, in Venice Beach, and is now in NYC inside of Gotham NYC. Gotham NYC offers a wide variety of cannabis items, such as THC and CBD, gummies, pre-rolls, and more. Gotham also offers fashion and lifestyle brands and is a great space to chill out and interact with the staff and crew and leave feeling “high on life” and relaxed. They offer so many varieties of self-soothing substances with top quality and natural ingredients. I am looking forward to indulging myself. The staff was so friendly and offered me so many things to try. I’m looking forward to coming back.
I had the chance to create my own NFT piece of art through this technology Vida uses. It happened within a minute, a blink of my eye, and I have my own NFT digital art on my phone. It can be transferred and sold through cryptocurrency, or I can cherish it on my phone for special eyes to view. NFT and the Art world are still going to have a bunch of controversy of “what is it” “how does it work” and if it’s trying to replace “organic” art, but I believe it’s a more accessible and transformative type of artwork. It doesn’t take away “organic” artwork but offers a more instant and expansive creativity. Congratulations to Jimena Buena Vida and her amazing collections, I learned so much about both these brands and the NFT Art world.
For more information about Bright Moments, artists and to view Jimena’s expansive artwork:
Go to www.brightmovement.io for more.
ucers John Williams and Stephanie Walter, hosted their Annual ChangeMakers Gala, honoring Val Boreland, EVP of Content Acquisitions for NBC Universal Television and Streaming; and Producer, Director and world-renown Actress, Nia Long. Reel Works serves over 1,600 NYC youth annually from middle school through high school and beyond. The services offered through Reel Works aims to develop the hope filled youths as industry professionals, artists and citizens, all while helping them to excel in academics, preparing them for graduation, encouraging them to pursue higher educational goals, while aligning their professional development to launch careers in media, film and related industry sectors. To date, Reel Works is the only filmmaking program that matches teens 1:1 with professional filmmaker-mentors that show them how to tell their stories and have their voices heard.