Digital art company Art Blocks has acquired NFT marketplace Sansa, as part of a “strategic move” to broaden its ecosystem and create a “home for generative art.”
“I have long wanted to see Art Blocks align with what has been released on the platform,” Art Blocks founder and CEO Erick Calderon said in a statement accompanying the announcement. “We will broaden the ways creators can release within the Art Blocks ecosystem and bring collectors’ collections home for a more cohesive experience.”
He added: “We were born out of a pure passion for the generative medium and we will continue to build towards the best possible maker and collector experience we can imagine, with a bright future for individual expression in mind.”
Founded in November 2022 with a focus on generative art and Art Blocks, Sansa has expanded its scope to include a wide range of digital art, artists and galleries. Artists are vetted through an application process, allowing collectors to view a curated selection of artworks. Since its launch, more than 1,300 works of art have been purchased on the platform, with sales totaling more than $2.2 million.
Art Blocks is a generative art company founded by Erick ‘Snowfro’ Calderon in 2020, focused on providing a destination that brings artists and collectors together. Leading NFT art projects within the Art Blocks ecosystem include Calderon’s own ‘Chromie Squiggles’, along with ‘Fidenza’ by Tyler Hobbs and ‘Ringers’ by Dmitri Cherniak, one of which sold at auction at Sotheby’s last year for $6.2 million was sold.
In March 2023, Art Blocks debuted its own NFT marketplace with enforced creator royalties; the Sansa acquisition is the first of many updates the company has teased in 2024.