Tag:

NFT

ArtEventsEvents

Digital Brilliance: Navigating the Bright Moments Art Collection

by Veronika Collins
written by Veronika Collins

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.

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
EventsFashion & BeautyLifestyleThe LatestUncategorized

A Night With Cuba’s First Private Fashion Brand, Clandestina

by Isabella Japal
written by Isabella Japal

NFTs? Check. Live Cuban music? Double check. Signature cucumber gin and tonics from Épicerie Boulud? Triple check! This is how Clandestina, Cuba’s first private fashion brand parties. They celebrated the launch of their new collection, Metavelso at The Canvas 3.0, a new gallery space located in the World Trade Center here in Downtown Manhattan.

Continue Reading
0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
LifestyleThe Latest

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH NATHAN LEONG & VISIT TO “SOMEWHERE NOWHERE”

by Avyana Chapman
written by Avyana Chapman

The Knockturnal checked out the beautiful, Somewhere Nowhere rooftop club last weekend. If you have never been check it out ASAP! The long weekend is still young!

Somewhere Nowhere NYC, a two-level indoor lounge and open-air rooftop pool venue, sits at the top of the Renaissance New York Chelsea Hotel located at 112 W 25th St, on the 38 and 39th floors. The 5,156-square-foot luxury day and nightlife destination is designed to artfully merge progressive sound and lighting technology with garden-inspired decor and magical design to indulge guests in an immersive nightlife experience. The decadence of Somewhere Nowhere’s outdoor lounge and open-air rooftop pool boasts 360 views of Manhattan’s majestic skyline as far as the eye can see.

The cocktail menu changes seasonally and features a mix of classic libations and expertly crafted cocktails that match the venue decor and escapism from the hustle and bustle of the city. On the food side, Somewhere Nowhere offers globally inspired comfort food dishes that are upscale yet approachable for all guests. Available on the After-Work menu to take off the edge, Late Night Food, or Nightlife Menu. 

The Knockturnal was greeted by Nik, who was amazing and took us right up to the 38th to get our night started. THIS VENUE WAS STUNNING! It literally looked like we were in a fairytale!! OMG!! After being lost for words for about 5 minutes and trying to record the beautiful Instagramable establishment, Nik escorted us into the VIP section where we started the night with a couple of refreshing cocktails. After enjoying a few cocktails and a shot we went to the dance floor to jam out to the music @samblacky and @jacksonenglund were spinning! The rest of the night was filled with great vibes, amazing views of the city, and music that kept us moving and feeling alive!

The Knockturnal also had the pleasure to interview Nathan Leong:

The Knockturnal: Please tell readers about yourself. 

Nathan Leong: I’ve always gravitated to the high-energy and fast-paced lifestyle of nightlife and hospitality. As an Asian kid growing up in Puerto Rico, I was able to stand out amongst my classmates. I was the kid who always threw parties and gravitated to a very active social life. When I moved to New York, I was quickly attracted to nightlife and the energy from the atmosphere and began co-producing VIP Table Decks for the main stage at Electric Zoo— the largest electronic music festival in New York. Growing a reputation in the industry and the right contacts to build a live music venue, I launched my hospitality group El Grupo SN with partner Sameer Qureshi to open the tallest nightclub, lounge and rooftop pool with Somewhere Nowhere. We wanted to create a venue that felt like an escape in all aspects from the decor, high tech sound system and location itself which is how the name was created— Somewhere Nowhere, you are somewhere but able to escape to be ‘in the moment’ or nowhere at the same time. 

The Knockturnal: What makes Somewhere Nowhere more than a nightclub and music venue? 

Nathan Leong: My partner Sameer Qureshi, and I have always said from day one that we are creating a lifestyle brand with Somewhere Nowhere NYC. Our goal is to expand our brand and experiences beyond one physical location and create memorable and intimate experiences within our ecosystem that will be made available in multiple destinations. Under one roof, we’ve expanded to offer events beyond nightlife by introducing Daylife for after-work events and the launch of our rooftop pool and new jazz programming on Wednesdays. 

In addition, we’ve bridged the gap between the tech and hospitality communities through the launch of our NFT collection— The Somethings. Our membership-utility based NFT collection will offer royalty rewards, as well as will work towards becoming a household name in the lifestyle and entertainment world as a brand producing exclusive digital and IRL (in real life) experiences and brand activations that will unite our community in multiple cities. We recently launched our in-house creative Web3 studio, SWNW Lab to accomplish this – which currently has over 10,000 registrations for the NFT collection. 

With The Somethings NFT project, our hospitality group can invite Somewhere Nowhere NYC’s community to embark on a journey from one physical location to a plethora of new experiences within our ecosystem in multiple cities and destinations. 

The Knockturnal: Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way? 

Nathan Leong: We’ve been fortunate to have the support of the community we’ve built over the years. It has helped make it a smooth road instead of launching Somewhere Nowhere and these new ventures without a base clientele. We have amazing support from everyone. The biggest challenge we’ve faced is growing and scaling while maintaining a level of top execution for events. That’s all part of growing pains and we’ve been fortunate to find top event planners who are stepping up to take on the new challenges as we continue to add new programming and expansions. Scaling your business is always the goal, so learning how to improve as you grow is a new set of exciting challenges that we’re ready to face. 

The Knockturnal: What are you and your team most looking forward to in the future?

Nathan Leong: We’re excited to officially launch our NFT collection by SWNW Lab, The Somethings. This is a project that 3D motion graphic designer Matt Burniston and myself have been working on for the last five months. The team is excited for The Somethings NFTs to drop as it adds a new element of gamification to our everyday interaction with our clients. With ‘The Somethings’ we are able to add more experiences for our clientele that expands our ecosystem beyond Somewhere Nowhere NYC – such as token-gated pop-up experiences. The Somethings collection will be dropping this summer to offer customers special membership perks through their NFTs. 

Now that it’s Summer and the weather is beautiful again, we have ramped up entertainment for Somewhere Nowhere with day life and afterwork programs being activated on both the nightclub and rooftop pool levels of the venue. 

In addition, we’re expanding our El Grupo SN hospitality group this summer 2022 with our newest venue in Long Island City, Gamehaus NY. A multi-room concept as the largest family-friendly venue in New York. 

You can follow Nathan Leong on Twitter or Instagram: @nathanleongnyc

0 comments
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Newer Posts
Older Posts