Agustob

FELLOWSHIP PROJECTS 2021-2024 Photography and NFTs go hand in hand in terms of large-scale information distribution. A photograph can be reproduced infinitely, and NFTs can be shared infinitely. Coincidentally, in the digitization of art, photography was one of the first mediums to be digitized and subsequently manipulated, altered, and experimented with using digital tools. Over the past 30 years, digital photography has become one of the most disseminated art forms on the internet. When considering NFTs, it felt like a natural fit to pursue the distribution of these artworks as digital assets. Photographers have been publishing and selling their images as JPEGs for years. Blockchain technology was a natural extension of the medium. Since late 2021, we began collecting NFT photographs and subsequently found ourselves as promoters and curators of this medium in web3. We’d like to do a series of recaps highlighting the projects we’ve launched over the past three years. Today, we talk about the AS10K Project. In 2022, we teamed up with the August Sander family to launch the AS10K Project—an initiative that helped preserve and celebrate the work of August Sander, known as one of the most important photographers of the 20th century. Sander was known for his powerful portraits that documented everyday people in Germany during the early 1900s. His approach was groundbreaking because he aimed to capture the true diversity of society, from farmers to factory workers, with an honest and humanizing lens. His work had a huge impact on photography, helping to shape documentary and portrait photography as we know it today. The AS10K Project turned over 10,000 of his contact sheets into NFTs, giving collectors around the world the chance to own and protect a piece of his history. Fellowship also created a catalogue raisonné—a complete collection of Sander's work—through this project. The AS10K Project wasn’t just about keeping Sander’s legacy alive; it made his work accessible to a global community of collectors. By linking physical contact sheets with their digital NFT versions through NFC technology, the project brought together historic photography with modern digital ownership. The collection was made available on platforms like OpenSea, and the AS10K Project showed how shared ownership could bring people together to protect and appreciate August Sander’s lasting influence on photography. Thank you to the community who supported the project: @ruskin1819, @Garbageman_22, @NyimasLaula, @emapigio, @LB_artworks, @BrettCodyRogers, @_agustob_, @Carlo_VandeRoer, @emmeworld1, @a1111ac011d0, @0xdirtyicecream, @0xSimonSays, @tonyredcap, @goriodiazdg, @ProteinProsecco, @KphotoB to mention a few!