SamJ: Gallery

On June 26th, SamJ will be releasing an AR experience NFT with SuperRare in conjunction with the Nifty Pride Foundation to wrap up a fabulous 2021 pride month. SamJ approached Nifty Pride, the NFT/Cryptoart based collective supporting the LGBTQIA+ artist community, with the initial idea to develop a project in AR and hold an event in the metaverse to celebrate the release of the sculpture and the weekend of charity events organized by Nifty Pride. Sam often uses many different art mediums in their work so flushing out an idea and event worth celebrating came as no challenge.

SamJ’s previous work exploring digital drag, fashion, and identity has led them to explore the practice of 3D scanning their makeup and creating environments to further showcase a chosen aesthetic.

Bound To Fall In Love
Edition 1 of 1
Complete digital fashion designed by SamJ. INCLUDES an Infinite Objects Video Display | Audio by wilkjayy | 40:00 seconds | 24 FPS | 1920×1080 | MP4 | 45.6 MB

This piece, in AR, is a further exploration of their fresh creative process, incorporating previous illustration motifs from Sam’s older works into this new method of production. Their illustrative motifs easily lend themselves to the context of Pride, given that the colors encompass a complete range of hues.

Beginning with sketches, Sam developed a collection of three makeup designs to be complemented with a setting built in 3D and accompanied by a rendition of the graphic makeup as a more literal interpretation, a triptych of paintings. The collector of this NFT will be privileged to hold not only the AR experience, but also the original paintings, as well. Finally, you can view the display at the SuperRare Museum in Decentraland.

As this piece is being released in partnership with Nifty Pride, 25% of the final sale and SuperRare commission will be donated to the ongoing fundraiser benefiting the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts (TEF) (https://transemergencyfund.org/). Fundraising for TEF is a focus of NifyPride2021, as the extreme challenges and abuse facing transgender, non-binary, and gender-non-conforming people in the U.S.A. is a critical concern. Nifty Pride is working with the TEF and Cryptoartists to raise funds that will help broaden their reach outside of Massachusetts, and assist in generating new local TEF chapters nationwide.

Virtual events will be taking place for Nifty Pride through June 26th and 27th, including live music, workshops, performances, artist presentations, and a live NFT auction. #NiftyPride2021 will be a landmark event for the Cryptoart community and will showcase LGBTQIA+ artists as some of the most inspired and exciting in the NFT space. Artists and anybody wishing to perform, or give a workshop/talk can find more information and submission forms here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14ipmzIlLqjGXDsQ0HiLROmm4Yy8xjW3JBOraVTA8vLw/edit?usp=sharing or contact organizers directly at [email protected], or https://twitter.com/niftypride. 

Outside of Pride weekend, Nifty Pride is working to build continued and long-term support for the LGBTQIA+ Cryptoart community. A portal-connected network of gifted and borrowed CryptoVoxels plots is serving as an ongoing exhibition space for artists. https://www.cryptovoxels.com/play?coords=W@642W,140S,6U