>> PARIS, THANK YOU.
NON-FUNGIBLE IT SUGGESTS UNIQUE
OR IRREPLACEABLE.
NON-FUNGIBLE TOKEN ARE IN A WAY
ONE OF A KIND WORKS OF ART.
"CHICAGO TONIGHT'S" EVAN GARCIA
VISITED AN NFT ART GALLERY IN
WICKER PARK THAT IS THE
FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND.
[♪♪♪]
>> IMNOTART I AM IS NOT YOUR
EVERYDAY ART GALLERY.
FORGET PHYSICAL PAINTINGS OR
SCULPTURES IN THIS SPACE SCREENS
DISPLAY DIGITAL ART.
NFTS OR NON-FUNGIBLE TOKENS.
>> AN NFT IS ANS IS SET A
DIGITAL ASSET STORED ON THE
BLOCKCHAIN AND SO THAT ASSET CAN
REPRESENT ANYTHING.
IN AN ART GALLERY LIKE IMNOTART
HERE, CAN REPRESENT A PIECE OF
ART THAT CAN BE A VIDEO FILE AN
IMAGE FILE.
>> NFTS ARE KEPT ON THE BLOCK
CHAIN THE LEDGER USED FOR
CRYPTOCURRENCIES LIKE BITCOIN
AND ETHEREUM.
MOST ARE PART OF THE ETHEREUM
BLOCKCHAIN.
IMNOTART OPENED LAST SUMMER.
OWNER MATTHEW SCHAPIRO SAYS THAT
CHICAGO'S FIRST PHYSICAL NFT
GALLERY AND ONE OF THE FIRST IN
THE WORLD.
>> AS THIS NFT BOOM WAS
HAPPENING, SINCE LIKE BEGINNING
OF THIS YEAR, SAW A BIG
OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE SOMETHING
IN THE SPACE WE THOUGHT WOULD BE
DIFFERENT THAN OTHER THINGS.
AND BUILDING A COMMUNITY.
>> WE'RE WATCHING THAT CLOSING
OF THE AUCTION WHICH CLOSES IN
AN HOUR.
>> NFTS MADE HEADLINES WHEN
BEEPLE SOLD ONE FOR $69 MILLION
AT CHRISTIE'S AUCTION HOUSE.
HE TOLD ANOTHER FOR $28.9
MILLION LAST WEEK.
>> I WANTED TO TAKE LOCATIONS IN
CHICAGO THAT ALL CHICAGOANS
COULD HAVE A CONNECTION TO.
AND BRING THEM TO LIFE WITH ONE
LINE.
>> LOCAL ARTIST SINCLAIR WAS
FEATURED IN A RECENT IMNOTART
EXHIBIT SHOWCASING LOCAL NFT
ARTISTS.
COPYING AND PASTING NFTS DOES
NOT HINTER THE ART FORM.
>> IF YOU ARE SCREEN SHOOTING MY
VIDEOS AND POSTING THEM THAT IS
BRINGING MORE ADVERTISEMENT TO
ME.
AND MORE PRESTIGE TO THE
ARTWORK.
>> SOME OF THE POSTCARDS AND
THEN I HAVE THESE PIGEONS WHICH
ARE LIKE AN ICONIC THING IN THE
CITY THAT YOU SEE THEM
EVERYWHERE.
>> WILLEA ZULEY IS ANOTHER LOCAL
NFT ARTIST.
SHE PURSUED DIGITAL ART AFTER
LEAVING AN LA ARCHITECTURE JOB
IN 2019.
>> AT THE BEGINNING OF 2020,
PANDEMIC STARTED AND I HAD A LOT
OF FREE TIME BY MY OWN I WAS
TRYING TO THINK OF ANOTHER
CREATIVE OUTLET THAT I CAN
UTILIZE WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN THE
ARCHITECTURE WORLD INTO
SOMETHING NEW.
>> AT THE IMNOTART ART EXHIBIT
WILLEA ZULEY'S WORK SOLD FOR
$2.92 ETHEREUM A VALUE OF
$12,000.
TONIGHT THE GALLERY IS HOSTING
AN NFT DROP FOR ARTIST BRENDAN
FERNANDES.
WHAT IS AN NFT DROP?
THE PUBLIC RELEASE OF MINTED
NFTS FOR COLLECTORS TO PURCHASE.
MINTING AN NFT PUT IT IS ON THE
BLOCKCHAIN BUT ALSO CONSUMES A
GREAT DEAL OF ENERGY THROUGH
COMPUTATIONAL POWER.
BRENDAN FERNANDES SAYS HE IS
AWARE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL
CONCERNS SURROUNDING NFTS.
>> 2% OF THIS DROP WILL GO TO
SUSTAINABILITY AND LOOKING
THROUGH DIFFERENT SOURCES TO
GENERATE BUILDING COMMUNITY, BUT
ALSO SUPPORTING LIKE GROWING
TREES AND TAKING CARE OF THE
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES THAT THIS
IS COMING WITH.
>> AS FOR THE FUTURE OF IMNOTART
SHAPIRO HOPES TO BUY THE
BUILDING THEY ARE IN AND
CONTINUE OPERATING IN THE
DIGITAL LANDSCAPE KNOWN AS THE
METAVERSE WHERE ANYONE IN THE
WORLD WITH VISIT THE GALLERY.
>> WHAT WE'VE SEEN WITH THE
PANDEMIC WITH THE ADOPTION OF
ZOOM LIKE THE DIGITAL SOCIAL
EXPERIENCE IS IMPORTANT.
AND THIS IS THE METAVERSE IS A
REAL COOL EXTENSION OF THAT IT
IS A COMBINATION OF VIDEO GAMES
WITH ZOOM AND PLAYER CONTROLLED
WORLD.
>> FOR "CHICAGO TONIGHT" THIS IS
EVAN GARCIA.
>> AND IMNOTART IS OPEN TO THE
PUBLIC DAILY FROM NOON TO 4:00
P.M. AND AROUND THE CLOCK IN THE