Ukraine’s National Art Museum to Preserve and Digitize Ukrainian Cultural Heritage via NFT Collection
The National Art Museum of Ukraine, in partnership with Patron-of-Art.com, will launch a charitable non-fungible token (NFT) collection to protect, restore, and digitize Ukrainian cultural heritage.
The partnership was made public during a plenary presentation at the 26th International Council of Museums (ICOM) General Conference, which around 2.400 museum professionals attended.
The charitable NFT collection will include digital replicas of more than 20 of the National Art Museum of Ukraine’s famous masterpieces. The first series of four artworks, minted in limited edition, will be available for purchase on Patron-of-Art.com starting on December 7th.
“10 million people own digital collectibles, and this number is growing daily,” said Dr. Stephan Holzer, former McKinsey & Company’s Blockchain Expert for Europe, and CEO of VERITIC. “We built Patron-of-Art.com to be the best platform for museums, other cultural institutions, and artists to reach this growing digital audience and nurture a new generation of art enthusiasts and patrons. We work closely with them to create digital collectibles in the most accessible, secure, and sustainable way.”
The National Art Museum of Ukraine (NAMU) is the oldest and largest museum in Kyiv with more than 40,000 exhibits, including paintings and sculptures from the Middle Ages to the present day. Some of the country’s best-known masterpieces are housed in the museum, making it one of the most important institutions for national artworks.
Aside from the transaction fees and a 3% commission to cover costs, all other proceeds will be used to charitable causes. Specifically, the proceeds will be distributed to the Deutsch-Ukrainische Gesellschaft (DUG) / Ukraine Art Aid Center.
The National Art Museum of Ukraine will use the funds to address the challenges posed by the Russian attack, including efforts to protect and restore its collection, and, potentially, fortify the museum’s building. Funds will also support digitization projects at NAMU and other museums across Ukraine.
“Compounding the humanitarian crisis is a threat to cultural heritage,” says Yuliia Lytvynet, director of NAMU. “Partnerships with organizations such as Patron-of-Art.com and DUG / Ukraine Art Aid Centre provide direct support in our efforts to protect our museum’s collection for the duration of this war as well as during the reconstruction period.”
Supported by the German Government and World Heritage Watch, DUG / Ukraine Art Aid Center has been providing practical help in Ukraine’s efforts to rescue cultural exhibits and monuments since March this year.
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