keanu reeves and alexandra grant want to make the metaverse a better place for artists
can a new charity make the metaverse more inclusive?
The Internet’s Boyfriend Keanu Reeves has teamed up with his actual partner and LA-based artist Alexandra Grant to advise a new non-profit charity that’s been set up to support diverse and underrepresented artists. According to the Hollywood Reporter, The Futureverse Foundation will help get traditional creatives into the digital space and guide them on how to transform their artwork into non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. The charity will also invest in the artists through grants. It’s all part of the foundation’s mission to build ‘more diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces in both the real world and the metaverse.’
The Futureverse Foundation was launched on June 22 by Non-Fungible Labs, a New Zealand-based NFT and blockchain-based technology company, with Alexandra Grant and Keanu Reeves taking on advisory roles.
‘Funding for the arts is a challenge for every artist and arts non-profit’, says Grant. ‘Dreaming up a new model for arts philanthropy with the Non-Fungible Labs team that can have a lasting impact in both the digital and real realms has been one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on, that has already had real impact.’
Grant adds, ‘Our creative future is going to be lived between the real and the digital, and it’s our responsibility to include more people in that creative space.’
Reeves comments, ‘I am honored to be joining Non-Fungible Labs’ efforts in cooperation with Alexandra Grant for the extraordinary program and opportunity of the Futureverse Foundation, in support of artists and creators globally.’
images courtesy of The Futureverse Foundation
Grant recipients will be chosen via a nomination process, with special consideration going to indigenous and women artists. To mark the launch of the Futureverse Foundation, Non-Fungible Labs provided a €100,000 donation to writer, filmmaker and art historian Nana Oforiatta Ayim, to support her work curating the Ghanaian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2022. Her curatorial concept was based on a mobile museum, showcasing the work of Na Chainkua Reindorf, Afroscope and Diego Araúja, in an exhibition designed by architect DK Osseo Asare.
Non-Fungible Labs has already raised over $2,000,000 for causes such as homelessness and support for Ukraine through FLUF World, a digital ecosystem built on the Ethereum blockchain.
Co-founder of FLUF World, Brooke Howard-Smith, comments on the new Futureverse Foundation initiative, ‘We feel that AI artists giving back to artists in the physical world is the embodiment of what the metaverse is and where it’s going. It’s important to us that we do our charitable part and use our influence to inspire the collective to be generous and kind. Partnering with a renowned philanthropist like Alexandra Grant is the first of many incredible initiatives we hope to embark on to create a better future for artists everywhere.’
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