[English version below] Nel corso degli ultimi anni, la blockchain si è imposta non solo per la sua funzione originaria di registro destinato al conio e alla circolazione delle criptovalute, ma anche come infrastruttura fondante di una nuova visione di internet, basata sull’anonimato, la crittografia, la decentralizzazione, la protezione e il controllo individuale dei dati: il cosiddetto Web3. All’indomani dell’esplosione della bolla speculativa degli NFT, e in una fase di crisi delle criptovalute, è urgente in ambito artistico una riconsiderazione degli aspetti meno visibili e meno discussi della blockchain, per capire non solo come l’arte possa usarla, ma anche come possa condizionarne lo sviluppo futuro: analizzando e decostruendo le narrative dominanti, investigando le culture e le ideologie che l’hanno plasmata, approfondendo le sue applicazioni sociali e le potenzialità che offre in termini di costruzione comunitaria e di governance.

Introdotta e moderata dal prof. Domenico Quaranta, la conferenza Beyond Financialization: Blockchain, Mysticism, Community and Art approfondirà queste questioni con l’aiuto del prof. Martin Zeilinger, ricercatore, curatore e Senior Lecturer in Computational Arts and Technology alla Abertay University di Dundee, Scotland; e della ricercatrice e curatrice Inte Gloerich, attualmente impegnata in un dottorato di ricerca promosso dalla Utrecht University e dall’Institute of Network Cultures di Amsterdam sugli immaginari tecnosociali della blockchain.

Over the past few years, blockchain has emerged not only for its original function as a registry designed for the minting and circulation of cryptocurrencies, but also as the foundational infrastructure of a new vision of the Internet, based on anonymity, cryptography, decentralization, and individual data protection and control: the so-called Web3. In the aftermath of the explosion of the NFT speculative bubble, and at a time of crisis in cryptocurrencies, a reconsideration of the less visible and less discussed aspects of blockchain is urgently needed in the arts, in order to understand not only how art can use it, but also how it can condition its future development: by analyzing and deconstructing dominant narratives, investigating the cultures and ideologies that have shaped it, and delving into its social applications and the potential it offers in terms of community building and governance.

Introduced and moderated by Prof. Domenico Quaranta, the conference Beyond Financialization: Blockchain, Mysticism, Community and Art will delve into these issues with the help of prof. Martin Zeilinger, a researcher, curator and Senior Lecturer in Computational Arts and Technology at Abertay University in Dundee, Scotland; and researcher and curator Inte Gloerich, currently engaged in a PhD sponsored by Utrecht University and the Institute of Network Cultures in Amsterdam on the techno-social imaginaries of blockchain.

Martin Zeilinger is an Austrian researcher and curator currently based in Dundee, Scotland, where he works as Senior Lecturer in Computational Arts and Technology at Abertay University. His work focuses on artistic and activist experiments with emerging technologies (primarily blockchain and AI), intellectual property issues in contemporary art, and aspects of experimental videogame culture. In 2021, he published the monograph Tactical Entanglements: AI Art, Creative Agency, and the Limits of Intellectual Property with meson press, which is freely available under an Open Access license. More info: https://marjz.net

Inte Gloerich is a PhD researcher at Utrecht University and the Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences). In her PhD, she explores sociotechnical imaginaries around blockchain technology as they appear in for instance blockchain memes, startup culture, and art. More broadly, Inte’s work involves the politics, artistic imagination, and (counter)cultures surrounding digital technology and economy. Inte teaches at the MA New Media & Digital Culture and the BA Media & Information at the University of Amsterdam. More info: http://www.integloerich.nl