Conversations | What Does Blockchain Mean for Ownership and Copyright? 

Conversations | What Does Blockchain Mean for Ownership and Copyright?
Art Basel in Basel 2023, June 17
Blockchain has been hailed as a decentralizing and redistributive technology, empowering artists and increasing transparency in the art market. But what do you ‘own’ when you acquire an NFT? How is a work authenticated and whom does the copyright belong to? Do transactions really remain forever on the blockchain? This panel examines how ownership and copyright function on Web3, and how this rapidly developing field can empower galleries, artists, and collectors in equal measure.
‣ Bernadine Bröcker Wieder, CEO, Arcual, London
‣ Amelie Ebbinghaus, Director, The Art Loss Register, London
‣ Sarah Friend, artist and software developer, Berlin
‣ Primavera De Filippi, artist and Research Director at CNRS / Harvard
‣ Moderator: Brian Droitcour, Editor in Chief, Outland, New York
‣ Bernadine Bröcker Wieder is the CEO of Arcual, the first blockchain ecosystem built by the art community, for the art community, launched in 2022 with the backing and expertise of Luma Foundation, MCH Group and BCG X. Arcual’s customisable digital integrations help ensure verified provenance, digital authenticity, royalty sharing, and secure international payments for physical artworks. Bernadine is a well published and prominent thought leader in the art and tech community, having written for magazines including Apollo and Rolling Stone, appearing regularly on the BBC as an NFT and art expert. Bernadine has a track record of successful entrepreneurial ventures, including Vastari and Vastari Labs. She has facilitated blockchain proof of concepts with Everledger since 2016 and co-organised the first Christie’s Art+Tech Summit in 2018. Bernadine is a member of PAIAM, AWITA and the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars.
‣ Amelie Ebbinghaus is a Director at the Art Loss Register, the world’s largest private database of stolen and looted art, as well as items subject to security interests. She leads the ALR's provenance research team and works with art market participants as well as museums, insurers, law enforcement and lawyers in due diligence, focusing on legal and moral issues which might taint artworks. Amelie worked as an IP lawyer in Germany and completed an MSc in Art, Law and Business.
‣ Sarah Friend is an artist and software developer from Canada and currently based in Berlin, Germany. Recent solo exhibitions include Off: Endgame, curated by Rhizome, Refraction and Fingerprints at Public Works Administration, New York, USA and Terraforming at Galerie Nagel Draxler in Berlin, Germany.
‣ Primavera De Filippi is an artist and legal scholar at Harvard University, exploring the intersection between law and technology, with particular focus on the legal and political implications of blockchain technology. Her artistic practice instantiates the key findings of her research in the physical world, creating blockchain-based lifeforms that evolve and reproduce themselves as people feed them with cryptocurrencies.
‣ Brian Droitcour is a critic, editor, and curator. He has contributed to publications including 4columns, Artforum, and Rhizome, and catalogues for exhibitions at the Whitney Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario, among others. From 2014 to 2021 he worked at Art in America magazine, where he organized special issues on topics such as the digitized museum, generative art, and immersive art. He is now the editor in chief of the digital art platform Outland.
The Art Basel 2023 Conversations program is curated by Emily Butler. Coordination and support: Arianna Guidi.