The Cleveland Cavaliers have acquired three pieces of digital art, known as NFTs, which will be displayed on LED video boards at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and online in a virtual gallery.
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are taking off in the art, finance and sports worlds, are unique, digital assets that sit on a blockchain — a database that is shared across a network of computers.
Locally, the Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Co. in Canton, Ohio, and Moen, the plumbing fixture maker in North Olmsted, Ohio, have participated in the NFT market.
The Cavaliers' pieces are video clips that include sound. The NBA team will continue to add to its collection, which can be viewed online, the Cavaliers said in a press release.
The three NFTs are:
- Transcendence, by Dillon Hutchins.
- Lemon Dunk Tree, by Isaac Garcia.
- Brick Squad, by Dillon Hutchins.
The works are being displayed in a rotation on the Canyon LED inside the glass atrium of the FieldHouse, the Cavs said.
The four-story, 8 million pixel Canyon LED is visible to passersby in downtown Cleveland. The display is separated in the center by the venue's Overlook Bar, the team said.
The three basketball-themed pieces were purchased from independent artists on Foundation, a platform for live auctions of digital art and NFTs, using ETH cryptocurrency, the Cavaliers said.
The collection was born from a desire to use the Cavs' platform to engage with the global, contemporary art community and the team's fanbase, said Nic Barlage, president and chief operating officer of Rock Entertainment Group, in the release.
"We want to empower the independent artists who drive this community forward and amplify their work in both a physical way at the FieldHouse and virtually to our worldwide audience," Barlage said.
The NFTs will be added to more than 100 physical works that make up the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Public Art Program, he said.
Launched in September 2019 when the field house was renovated, the program is privately funded by Dan and Jennifer Gilbert and curated by Library Street Collective, the Cavs said.
