New York City's first digital and tech art fair

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, USA, April 11, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The New Art Academy is delighted to announce the inaugural Contemporary And Digital Art Fair (CADAF), which will showcase the profusion and diversity of digital art, ranging from experiments on the blockchain to virtual reality experiences.

New York City's first digital and tech art fair, CADAF, opens Friday, May 3 at Lightbox (248 West 37th Street). There will be a meet-and-greet with artists and curators, and the projection of select new media artworks. On the two remaining days, May 4 and 5, the Fair’s programming will resume with immersive digital art installations, including virtual reality experiences, generative art and artificial intelligence projects, and a symposium.

"CADAF’s mission is to become an exhibition and sales event for a rapidly growing digital and new media art market," said Elena Zavelev, the fair's director. "By nurturing the synergy between art and technologies, CADAF is helping to empower artists, collectors, gallery owners and anyone else in the art world who is keen to embrace the digital future."

The artworks on display will span a wide range of digital mediums, including virtual reality, artificial intelligence and generative art, blockchain projects, video works, and more. Among CADAF’s highlights is a collaboration by Khora Contemporary and Chinese American artist Yu Hong, entitled She’s Already Gone (2017), featured in e-flux as an exemplary application of virtual reality as an artistic medium. The piece travels through the life of the protagonist from her birth to her old age, transforming the artist’s hand-painted scenes into an immersive experience. As her life moves forward, history moves backward: the narrative begins with China’s Cultural Revolution and culminates in an ancient shamanistic ritual.

Meanwhile, co-founders of Larvalabs and Cryptopunk creators, Matt Hall and John Watkinson, will present their new generative art project, Autoglyphs. As each image, or “glyph,” is a unique signature generated by code on the blockchain, the creation and ownership of these artworks is inextricably bound. The “creation fee” paid by the owner of each Autoglyph is donated to charity, and owners can verify their contributions due to the inherent transparency of code on the blockchain.

Much anticipation is already percolating over another blockchain-based artwork, Snark.art’s collaboration with artist Tommy Hartung. The Old Testament is an extended director’s cut of Hartung's acclaimed 2014 video, THE BIBLE, which was praised by Artforum as an “astonishing masterpiece.” The project has been divided into “chapters” to enable collective ownership and community screenings using a blockchain loaning mechanism.

On May 4 and 5, CADAF will host a series of talks headlined by pioneers who have been at the forefront of the digital art world revolution. Speakers include Phillips auction house’s Director of Digital Strategy, Megan Newcome; Christie’s photography specialist, Anne Bracegirdle; video artist Eve Sussman; and conceptual artist Kevin Abosch, among others.

CADAF is cashless. All sales of exhibited artworks will be processed online in partnership with Opensea.io, the largest online marketplace for crypto collectibles, blockchain-based games and digital art. Blockparty is CADAF’s official ticketing partner, offering visitors the chance to pay in cryptocurrency and USD, along with the traditional Eventbrite option. Each Blockparty ticket is a non-fungible token (NFT) and a rare collectible in itself.

When:
May 3 hours: 6 pm - 9 pm
May 4 hours: 9 am - 8:30 pm
May 5 hours: 9 am - 6 pm

Where:
Lightbox
248 West 37th Street
New York, NY 10018

About the New Art Academy
Founded in 2017 and based in New York, the New Art Academy aims to educate the general public and professionals about art and innovative technology. Toward that goal, in collaboration with major art institutions and market leaders, the NAA regularly hosts panel discussions, lectures and conferences at the intersection of art and technology.

Elena Zavelev
CADAF
+1 646-431-6876
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