The war in Ukraine has been going on for over 253 days. While there was a big uproar in Europe at the beginning, news of various atrocities have ceased to affect us as much as they did in the beginning and now, for most of Europe, this war feels like just another war.
Nevertheless, one cannot but be awed by the power, resilience, and strength of the Ukrainian people who although attacked by the almost insurmountable force of the Russian army, continue to doggedly defend their country with great courage.
An admirable initiative by Ukraine which, in my opinion, has not been given enough attention is the fact that the nation is selling NFTS to finance its military. This was announced last March but, due to very little promotion, few of us have heard about it.
An admirable initiative by Ukraine which, in my opinion, has not been given enough attention is the fact that the nation is selling NFTS to finance its military. This was announced last Marchi but, due to very little promotion, few of us have heard about it.
The project is called Meta History https://metahistory.gallery/. It was created to commemorate the history of the current events in Ukraine, preserve the truth and seek donations for humanitarian aid. The NFTS are a chronology of events of the history of Modern times set in stone. Each NFT is a fact accompanied by personal reflections. The formula of each NFT is clear and simple. Each token is a real news piece from an official source along with illustration by both Ukrainian and international artists.
Vice covered this radical project but also pointed out that the NFTs have stagnated, with no possibility of resale for owners. In my opinion this happened because Ukraine has unfortunately failed to attract radical famous artists to participate in this project. For example, Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova also used NFTs to help raise money for Ukraine. Nadya launched project UKRAINE DAO which is an NFT of the Ukrainian flag and managed to raise 7.1 million dollars. A famous powerful artist in her own right, it was expected that her involvement was going to get much more attention than the Meta history Museum which relies on artists who have not got much of an international presence to submit NFTs. ‘Like a living word, a visual image provides a powerful form of ideological ammunition to guide the masses. An image created by a masterful hand has the power to embody people’s feelings and thoughts. It reverberates in the heart of every honest man, strengthens his faith in himself [and] in his people, and inspires him to fight the enemy heroically.’ Unless established artists unite and contribute to Meta History Museum, I
doubt it will ever manage to reach its maximum potential.
Wouldn’t it be great if artists such as Damien Hirst, to give one example, would
dedicate himself to donate an NFT to the Meta History Museum instead of
burning art in such challenging times?
Having said that, if you are an NFT collector or aficionado, buying an NFT which
does not cost the earth and the proceeds of which will go to help those in need,
might not be such a bad idea. It will surely become a treasured meaningful and
important part of your collection.
