“B.A.D – The Blockchain Art Directory was a key resource to the understanding and adoption of blockchain art, crypto collectibles, and blockchain technology during the second wave of blockchain art projects from 2017 to 2019.”
Coming from the educational sciences field – specifically media education and media semiotics – I’m currently spending my days as a mother interested in blockchain-powered art.
In 2017, I stumbled upon NFTs by coincidence whilst learning about blockchain. On Reddit and Twitter, I discovered EtherCards (the old physical ones), ENS domains, CryptoPunks, MoonCatRescue, DADA, Crypto Cats, CryptoKitties, Rare Pepe, and more.
Back then, blockchain art Twitter was just a tiny community of people sharing their projects and developments; it was a circle of experimentalists having fun.
Looking back from 2021, it was clear that crypto art was already gaining traction in early 2018. A strategy was needed to keep pace with these developments. Immediately after returning from the first Rare Art Festival in New York in 2018, I registered the domain blockchainart.directory.
I was blown away by the event and the amazing people. Many were the builders of infrastructures we rely on and the art considered “grails” today. So, I wanted a tool where I could list the various projects I came across. At first, it was for personal organizational purposes – I had no intention of making it public.
My spreadsheet started with projects already running in 2018. Shortly after I made my list public via B.A.D – The Blockchain Art Directory which launched in October 2018. Soon, people contacted me for their art and projects to be listed. By mid-2019, B.A.D covered over 130 entries – a handy database.
B.A.D also provided some of the first educational resources on dApps and web3 tools, which became instrumental to onboarding people and the understanding and adopting blockchain art and crypto collectibles.
Today, B.A.D is re-launched as version 2.0 and is still what it was from the early stages – a partly edited, partly community-fed web directory of past, present, and future crypto art projects. It covers different sections of NFT art, with categories such as photography, gaming, dance, etc., aiming to help visitors navigate and find their interests. B.A.D sees itself as part of the history of the space. While 2.0 will continue to host the database, we will also include resources on different aspects regarding art on the blockchain. It is incredible to witness – and catalog – the advancements in blockchains.
Bio: judithESSS is the founder of B.A.D – The Blockchain Art Directory, and Co-founder of B.A.D 2.0, and has been an avid NFT collector since 2017. B.A.D – The Blockchain Art Directory maps the origins and growth of NFT space’s developments.
