Lauren McDonagh-Pereira

Lauren McDonagh-Pereira is a photographer from Massachusetts, USA. She captures the beauty of the world around her, favoring Nikon cameras and lenses. She is drawn to shooting landscapes, wildlife, flowers, and people enjoying time together.

April 22, 2023
1:02 pm

Tez Art Connect Party #NFTNYC2023

TEZ Art Connect Party

Victoria West (@vwestphoto_nb) kicked off NFT NYC 2023 by hosting the fabulous Tez Art Connect Party on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

Sponsored by Tezos Commons (@TezosCommons), the party was held at The NFT Gallery (@TheNFTGallery4). This permanent web3 gallery is located at 88 Clinton Street, NYC.

The event featured the DJ skills of Guido Corleone (@Guido_Corleone), a live performance art piece by Andressa Furletti (@a_tchuca), and the art of over 100 Tezos artists as curated by Laurance Fuller, Andressa Furletti, DNS, TezQuakeAid, Patrick Amadon, Tipi, Leslie Spurlock, Aaron Vick, May, Joanne Enders, Toco Deco, and Victoria West. (Links to all Twitter profiles can be found in the imbedded Tweet below).

Keep reading to relive the event that solidified Tezos as the best community in web3.

We have a great line up of curators for our tez art community showcase!@LaurenceFuller @a_tchuca @dns @tezquakeaid @patrickamadon @NFTipi @ARTJEDI1 @LeslieASpurlock @aaronvick @NaiboVisuals @itsltlthings (Women of Vision Collection)@TocoDeco
& me pic.twitter.com/hBNl8eDmYU
— Victoria West 🏴‍☠️💎(.tez/.eth) (@vwestphoto_nb) April 1, 2023

Disclaimer

A red stop sign against a blue sky, with a red rocks on either side — ⓒ Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography 2013

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NYC and the Metaverse Collide

The Tezos artist community has a strong presecence on Twitter. We chat in daily in Twitter spaces, support each other in Twitter DM groups, and relish in collecting each other’s work during community events.

I have considered many of the people that I “met” at the Tezos Art Connect party friends for over a year now, despite never having the opportunity to spend time with them in person before.

I was clearly not alone in this feeling. Smiles, laughter, and hugs filled the room as people recognized each other’s voices from Twitter spaces and turned to joyfully hug their friends for the very first time.

Friends who could not make it to New York City for the event were not left out of the festivities.

Pamala Corals (@Pamela1VH) hosted a Twitter space during the event for the rest of the Tez Talk family.

https://t.co/5JBmUondbI
— PamelaCorals.tez.eth🏴‍☠️ (@Pamela1Vh) April 11, 2023

Aaron Vick (@aaronvick) co-hosted the Twitter space while running around the party with his phone and one bluetooth headphone like an absolute madman.

He paused only for selfies, hugs, and the occasionally bar of “Baby Shark” performed for the deeply unimpressed crowd of listeners at home.

Thorium (@Thorium_Photo) flexed his metaverse-building muscles by building a replica gallery on Spatial.

During the event, participants of the Twitter space were able to meet in the virtual metaverse gallery and view the pieces that had been curated for the exhibition in New York.

I highly recommend, you hop into this beautifully curated gallery and have a look around.

On top of the IRL party, the Twitter space, and the metaverse gallery, Kevin Mehrabi (@KMehrabi) upped the ante by live streaming the entire event.

If you want to enrich your life by seeing the world through Kevin’s eyes for 2 hour and 22 minutes, you can find the full video in this Tweet.

The Art

The Gallery

In the main gallery, hundreds of pieces of amazing Tezos art were displayed on 14 gorgeous screens.

Each screen was devoted to the selection of a particular cuator, who hand selected 10 pieces of Tezos art from an open call for submissions on Twitter. The mini-collections were displayed as a slow slide show, giving each piece 30 seconds to shine on a NYC gallery wall on a loop.

You can view all 14 curated videos in the Spatial Gallery by Thorium Labs.

The gallery experience was enhanced by the excellent vibe created by Guido Corleone (@Guido_Corleone) who was our DJ for the night.

Andressa Furletti (@a_tchuca) dazzled the room with a live performance piece.

Andressa could not see or hear as she wandered slowly about the gallery inviting attendees to become part of her art piece by taking a selfie of their reflections in her costume. Party-goers were invited to share their selfies on social media under #TakeASelfieOnMe.

The vibe was perfect. Attendees enjoyed the art, music and the generously provided drinks inside the gallery space.

Downstairs

On the lower level of The NFT Gallery, Toco Deco (@TocoDeco) curated an immersive art experience.

Projectors cast animated art on the wall, music played, and attendees could enjoy a full sensory experience.

The Patio

The weather was unseasonably warm for New York City in April. We were able to move much of the party outside onto the patio where we were treated to live poetry readings by Mindset Makes Money LLC (@Makesllc) and LMDesigns8 (@LMDesigns8).

Both performances captured the rapt attention of 100 people mid-party without any need for a microphone.

Out on the patio, shenanigans were had. We talked, we hugged, and we took way too many selfies.

The Tez Art Connect party was a truly magical night. I met so many Tezos friends in person for the very first time, I got to see a piece of my art displayed in a NYC gallery, and I got to enjoy music, performance art, and an excellent display of NFT art.

I am already looking forward to next years’ party. If you are part of the Tezos family, and you can get yourself to NYC next April, do yourself a favor and book those tickets!

For more Tez Art Connect content, check out the DNS.NEWS post; A Look Back at Tezos and Music NFT.NYC.

If you are not a party of the Tezos family, what are you waiting for? Read my tutorials and come aboard!