Blockchain Could Address Inequity In the Art World
It is 2021, a time of tremendous technological breakthroughs, and yet many people still face age-old inequalities related to their gender, race, sexual preferences, religious or political beliefs. Even in the art world. The decentralized nature of blockchain technology aims to disrupt systems, like the art market. However, these centralized top-down structures make them susceptible to the formation of such biases. However, does decentralization truly solve the embedded inequalities within such centralized systems？ The answer to this question is not clear. Art platforms based on decentralized technology give artists more equal and direct access to collectors. However, these same artists still need to appeal to the collector base whose tendencies may still mirror the traditional art market, where 98% of the top-grossing contemporary artists are white cisgender men. Curated art platforms often perpetuate this trend by making choices that are tailored to those same collector preferences. Decentralized technology, like blockchain, is ultimately a tool that can become a solution to existing problems in the art market or it can perpetuate the same cycle. NFTs level the playing field Artists with large social media followings can use NFTs to successfully sell their works to their own communities, while the rest find collectors largely through placement on curated