Dear web3 interested and/or involved reader,
Perhaps you heard about the spectacle that is NFT NYC, and what it means to web3! It’s when people from literally around the world (probably mostly from the U.S. but yes) come together for a conference of this name here in New York City. Please note: most people I know in web3 did not pay for a ticket (to the tune of hundreds of dollars — yikes!) to go to the actual conference.
No, for most of us, NFT NYC is 100% about the satellite parties & events that happen throughout the week outside of the conference. It’s an opportunity for all of the PFP-faced strangers — bonded through Discord channels and Twitter spaces and group chats over the last several months — to finally emerge, in person and face to face — often with an open bar at the ready. Thrilling!
This was my first experience with NFT NYC, and while I largely found the week as exhausting, overwhelming, and nonstop as the usual online web3 world we’re all used to meeting on, I also reveled in many heartfelt moments of kindness, togetherness, dance, and celebration that I got to share with many other NFT NYC’ers.
A couple other points to note in the name of context: June is Pride month, which is a big deal in New York, and the conference week actually ended in the week of the official weekend of Pride in Manhattan. Also, on Friday, we were all devastated to see that the Supreme Court finally made good on that leaked opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, effectively triggering all out or partial abortion bans across half the states.
What happens when mostly online communities come out IRL amongst the backdrop of a more fascist state by the day? Was Pride celebrated at NFT NYC? Did we feel the weight of the world or pretend it doesn’t exist (which I’d say is one of my criticisms of web3 culture; the ever-present self-involvedness)?
There was Pride and queer joy if you knew where to look (see below)! As for Roe v. Wade, I didn’t make it out to any events post- that decision, but I do wonder if it would’ve colored certain events/communities — I hope it would — in some way.
From the outside: what did NFT NYC’s overall presence look & feel like?
I live here, by the way — so it was WEIRD to see literal BAYC sails on ships in the Seaport, and stickers with PFPs all over the place! Like, we walked up to a food truck and got free froyo, lol. Overall, I think it was a curious sight to outsiders seeing NFT-related imagery (mostly BAYC — they had the capital and MO of making themselves known, from what I saw) everywhere, but if you didn’t have tickets to go to an event, that’s all it was — noise. No explanation, no welcoming for those who wanted to know more. I did see a welcome desk for BAYC, actually, but the people working it didn’t look particularly interested in chatting (read: they looked over it, haha).
From an inside: the events I loved and missed and admired
This reads from AN inside and not THE inside because the web3 world is already so vast; there are all kinds of pockets & communities. Some are rather dreadful, and their events just brought to life & amplified their crypto-bros-on-spring-break culture. Some are intentional, inspiring, radical, and inclusive. Here’s a quick rundown of what I got out to:
TUESDAY:
Mutual Love (Brooklyn): I missed this one 🙁 but it’s one of the super queer events that happened over the week, and the people I know involved (and finally met!) are lovely + super talented. Here’s a cute vid that captures the energy if you missed it like I did!:
Deadfellaz (Brooklyn): A TIME! A huge party with performances of all kinds, including amazing music sets from LATASHÁ and Princess Nokia.
WEDNESDAY:
I stayed home but wish I caught the BeetsDao x Dequency x other people event that included panels + music performances (Brooklyn).
THURSDAY:
P00LS pizza party (Manhattan): I tried to go to a p00ls pizza party event & we could not get in; had an amazing dinner with my love instead, then walked over to another event that shall not be named because it was a MESS.
Zoratopia (Queens): Zora’s extravaganza! I didn’t make it here, but I heard it was incredible, and had FREE DELICIOUS FOOD wow.
Boys at Night (Boys Club): THIS was a cool time. Boys Club is kind of like a Discord-based club (you have to apply to join) for women & non-binary people at all levels of interest/involvement in web3. The community is bursting with talent, and it was so cool to meet with people IRL at a stylish bar (an open one) with a GREAT DJ. This was the event I attended where my partner & I met the most people, and had the most conversation!
FRIDAY:
Nothing on the calendar for me on Friday.
SATURDAY:
PRISM World (Brooklyn): I’m really sad I missed PRISM’s event in Brooklyn! PRISM Collective is “a movement to create more access and opportunity in Web3 for Queer & Trans BIPOC creatives,” the beginnings of which I wrote about on the blog not too long ago. Leadership held an event with music performances and great vibes from what I saw!:
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That’s all for now! See you next year?
xo C