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Jen Stelco

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I studied painting and printmaking at university, and I still love to paint occasionally. But I started digital drawing in 2015 on my iPad mini, drawing with my finger, which led to an exhibition of prints called “Hybrid Heroine”. I remember thinking at the time that they looked better on a screen, back lit, and printing seemed a shame. Fast forward a few years when NFTs became a thing, and a good friend who was super early in NFTS got me involved. So, thanks to that friend, I got into it quite early, and verified on SuperRare in 2020. I then taught myself basic frame by frame animation with some of these old digital drawings I already had. My animation skills have progressed a bit since then, with different software, all from YouTube tutorials. At one point I saw that SuperRare had a metaverse exhibition in Cryptovoxels for young NFT artists and I really wanted my work to be included in the next one. So, I thought the best way of making that happen would be to offer to curate one for SuperRare so I could put my own work on it. I'd never curated before, so I asked my friend Anna Seaman to help. So, we got into this together and that’s when I started being more of a curator than an artist. Only a month later Anna, Claire Harris, Dave Shannon, and I formed MORROW collective. I still do my own art a little bit, but I don't have as much time for it. And I think I prefer the other side of it, if I'm honest. I really like working with artists. I really like what can be explored digitally. And I like putting on weird exhibitions in different metaverse platforms. I also like to show traditionalists and galleries what can be done with NFTs in physical spaces as well. This was the gap we saw and are trying to fill with MORROW collective, to bring traditional art values into NFTs. When we first started MORROW, the biggest barrier was that nobody knew what we were talking about. The question was, “what is an NFT? What does it mean? What's difference between an NFT and a JPEG?” So, a big part of it was education – workshops, NFT 101 seminars etc. But then the more common question became “why would I buy an NFT if I can't put on my wall?”, which is still one of my favourite questions to be thrown. The conversation's changing all the time, but I think in future it's going to be easier. If you think about the collectors of the future growing up with Minecraft you know they'll understand. They won't have a barrier to having digital assets. It’s not going to seem weird to them. I was actually making and selling NFTs for a good six months before I understood why people were buying them to be completely honestly. I had my mental shift when I was talking to a photographer who had some work in print that I really liked. He told me how much it was and how many editions there were. And I was like, “Is there an NFT as well?” He said no and I lost faith in him. How do I know if the editions were what he said they were? Maybe he's only ever going to officially make five and put the little 1/5 on there in pencil with his signature but there's nothing to stop him from just making some more and giving them to his mates or to his mum or putting some in his own house. Even though he was very honest and trustworthy, I just thought there was no way of proving that. I'd like to have a print so I can see it as well but if it's not an NFT then I don’t see the value. Yes, it’s a way of appreciating an artist and appreciating their work and being able to see it but I didn't see it holding value unless it was blockchain certified. When I talk about arts DAO, I tell people that if you hold an NFT then maybe it goes up in value and whatever, but if I'm honest, the main reason that I like being in the community is for the networking, events, advice, and opportunities. And that's where NFTs and crypto really can be at their best. It's like clubs that are formed and people that are supporting each other and people that have a general interest in similar things. And I say this all the time, but a rising tide lifts all boats.