OPEN CALL TO ARTISTS

To All Digital Artists:

For the launch of the Mint Gold Dust platform in July, Mint Gold Dust is holding a submission open call for our initial curated art series: the MGD Genesis series.

Prospective Artists have the opportunity to create and mint an art piece that portrays what ‘Gold Dust’ means to you, all through the filter of your artistic vision, style and techniques. The artwork must be a new, original artwork not available elsewhere in digital form.

Submission of an art piece alone does not transfer ownership from Artists. Once pieces are accepted to MGD Genesis, they will be available for sale on the Mint Gold Dust marketplace. Additionally, your artwork will be included in a catalog that will showcase the first artists to embark on this journey with us.

Artists whose work is accepted into the MGD Genesis series will automatically become part of our initial Artist Roster. For accepted MGD Genesis Artists we will also publish an interview on our platform regarding your practice and inspirations. Please email curator@mintgolddust.io with a proposal for your MGD Genesis piece and a link to your portfolio by June 25th for consideration.

We look forward to sharing your vision of ‘Gold Dust’ with the world.

the Mint Gold Dust Team

The Origin of Mint Gold Dust

Growing up in New Orleans, I observed the lives of Artists, and their struggles, all around me. My grandfather was an exceptional painter in the French Quarter, my mother is a jazz pianist and my father, a nuclear engineer by trade, is a passionate musician who plays Mozart on the banjo. Witnessing the experiences of my extended family gave shape to a vision for greater artistic opportunity, a vision that has finally come to fruition with the creation of Mint Gold Dust.

When I served as Chairperson of Jazz UK, I was shocked by the number of hours spent tracking musicians’ royalties. The inefficiencies and imbalances in artistic compensation was a stark reminder of its continuing systemic difficulties. My service as Chairperson only added resolve to my vision of a platform that would benefit creators’ livelihoods.

Some years ago at an auction of Old World artifacts, I witnessed the sale of empty canvas sacks selling solely by weight. It baffled me that anyone would pay substantial sums for empty bags hundreds of years old and I inquired further. I then discovered these nondescript canvas sacks had once been used to transport immense quantities of gold. While the sacks were now empty significant quantities of gold dust still remained, filling the crevices and folds in the cloth. By practical alchemy this precious residue had transformed otherwise mundane objects into coveted pieces of considerable worth.

As I often reflected on this memory over the years, I realized the metaphor in these canvas sacks that kept drawing me back. Every object, and by extension every person, possessed inherent worth as well as the innate potential to metamorphose into something far greater than its present state. In addition, those hundreds of pounds of gold had left remnants that held and created significant value long after the main attraction had moved on. I had to create a platform for everyone to mint their *own* Gold Dust!

When I entered the crypto and blockchain space in 2014 I finally saw a viable path to provide meaningful future prospects for creators and visionaries. I aspire to give new, greater opportunities to creators, who often sacrifice the fullest potential of their art for the purpose of “making a living”. Mint (Your) Gold Dust is here now.

- Kelly LeValley Hunt -