Arkive Brings Its Decentralized Museum IRL for the First Time, Debuts at Art Basel Miami Beach

SAN FRANCISCO (November 29, 2022) – Arkive, the world’s first decentralized physical museum, today announces it will debut its collection ‘When Technology was a Game Changer’ for the first time at Art Basel Miami Beach. Designed to instill curiosity, Arkive’s presence at the fair will bring art and history to life through interactive activations with leaders in art, culture and technology.

Art Basel Miami Beach brings together leading galleries from all over the world, attracting collectors, curators and cultural leaders along with the general public. The fair becomes an opportunity to engage with artworks and programming that define the conversations about modern and contemporary art. This is why Arkive is proud to announce its partnership with Art Basel Miami Beach. This partnership is a testament to Arkive’s mission to make art and artifacts accessible to a broader public. This year’s event is especially exciting as Art Basel will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in Miami Beach with its largest show to date.

“Since launching Arkive out of stealth earlier this year, we have been preparing to publicly showcase our first collection to the world, and I am happy to share that time is here,” said Tom McLeod, co-founder and Executive Director of Arkive. “This partnership marks a very important milestone in Arkive’s journey, as this is the first time a collection curated by everyday people is on display. This initial collection of diverse, culturally significant fine art and artifacts represents our global community’s decisions about what we should acquire, all while adhering to our initial curatorial theme of ‘When Technology Was a Game Changer.’”

For its first collection, Arkive’s community selected works that reflect, embody, and witness turning points in art or culture driven by technological advances. All seven artworks and cultural artifacts from Arkive’s ‘When Technology Was a Game Changer’ collection will be on display in the Arkive lounge in the VIP Collector’s Lounge at Art Basel Miami Beach, including:

● Acquisition #1: The Patent for the ENIAC (1954), the world’s first computer.

● Acquisition #2: Seduction (1985) by Lynn Hershman Leeson

● Acquisition #3: MTV Moonman prototype (1984) by Pat Gorman

● Acquisition #4: Eulogy for a Black Mass (2019) by Aria Dean

● Acquisition #5: Madonna’s “Vogue” fans (1990) from Vincent Paterson

● Acquisition #6: Hormonium (2022) by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

● Acquisition #7: Electromagnetic Field: January 5, 2022 (Meter Number 96215234, Consumption Charge 425kWh x $0.04944, Consumption Charge for Additional 1,485kWh x $0.05564, Fuel Charge Adj 1,910kWh x $0.147356, Purchased Power Charge Adj 1,910kWh x $0.036202, Municipalities Adj 1,910kWh x $0.003235, Subsidies, Public Light & other Subv HH, 1,910kWh x $0.0010368, Subsidies, Public Light & other Subv NHH 1,910kWh x $0.000522 (2022)) by Allora & Calzadilla

Arkive will be hosting a unique set of events during its time at Art Basel Miami Beach to engage with attendees and bring its art to life. On December 1st, join Arkive in their lounge to see local Miami dancers voguing in recognition of Arkive’s acquisition of Madonna’s fans used during her 1990 VMA performance

of ‘Vogue.’ In addition, on November 29th, attendees will have the opportunity to connect with Josh Baer, the Baer Faxt co-founder, and Tom McLeod, Arkive co-founder, from 4-5pm ET in Arkive’s lounge to learn more about Arkive and the state of the art world today.

“I have dedicated 15+ years of my career to building communities and making the art world more accessible. Arkive’s mission fits well into what I do and have done in a range of other roles: as a curator, writer, gallerist and, most recently, as a contemporary art advisor,” said Arkive’s Curatorial Advisor, Kelly Huang. “This realization, coupled with Tom’s vision to democratize access to the art world, made it an easy decision for me to support Arkive and start elevating more diverse art and artifacts that represent culture and ideologies from people of all backgrounds.”

Arkive will also be previewing the Arkive Magazine, which launches the following week. The Arkive Magazine will be a resource for critical reflection on the relationship between art, Web3, and culture by inviting rigorous, creative takes from practitioners, scholars, creators, critics, and enthusiasts alike.

About Art Basel

Founded in 1970 by gallerists from Basel, Art Basel today stages the world’s premier art shows for modern and contemporary art, sited in Basel, Miami Beach, Hong Kong, and Paris. Defined by its host city and region, each show is unique, which is reflected in its participating galleries, artworks presented, and the content of parallel programming produced in collaboration with local institutions for each edition. Art Basel’s engagement has expanded beyond art fairs through new digital platforms and new initiatives such as The Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report, Intersections: The Art Basel Podcast, and The BMW Art Journey. For further information, please visit artbasel.com.

About Arkive

Arkive is the world’s first decentralized physical museum. Arkive’s brand-new model of how a museum can operate gives the people the power to curate and select what items are culturally significant rather than institutions. With a collection shaped by alums from MoMA and Gagosian, Arkive was co-founded by Tom McLeod, a 5x founder who exited his last startup, Omni, to Coinbase. Prior to that, McLeod ran Pagelime (acquired by SurrealCMS in 2015), LolConnect (acquired by Tencent in 2012), and Imaginary Feet, which developed 15+ profitable iPhone apps enjoyed by over 10 million users.

For more information, visit arkive.net.

Contact Information

Brook Klingel

Media Contact

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arkive@vsc.co