Mannequins Kendall Jenner and Kate Moss, musician J Balvin, artist Jeff Koons and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann are among the celebrities who will serve on a panel that will select winning digital art pieces for an upcoming NFT collection, to be organized to benefit the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR).
Creators from around the world have until July 9 to submit original digital backgrounds to the panel via Outlook 100a digital voting platform designed to showcase the work of underserved artists to curators at the top of their field.
Ultimately, 100 of those backgrounds will be chosen and randomly combined with foreground characters already created by amfAR to form the organization’s first-ever NFT collection. All proceeds from the sale of the collection, which will take place at a later, unannounced date, will benefit AIDS-related research.
An example of a foreground character in amfAR’s debut NFT collection. Courtesy: amfAR
Designs submitted to the project are first judged by a public vote on Prospect 100. Finalists are then selected for the collection by the project’s celebrity panel, based on originality, significance, and coherence with the aesthetics of the pre-designed foreground of amfAR characters.
Joining the collection judging panel marks the first NFT foray for some celebrities, but not others. For example, Koons, the highest-grossing living artist in the world, brought a debut NFT collection last year. that collection, Moon phasesconsisted of 125 NFTs, all of which are linked to a physical sculpture that will be sent to the moon via an autonomous lunar lander later this year.
Supermodel Moss has released a series of short videos as NFTs early 2021. Jenner and Elvis Director Luhrmann, meanwhile, has had no prior public relations with the new blockchain-based medium.
Other judges who will select the project’s winning designs include French designer Alexandre “Millinsky” Dalliance (also co-founder of Project 100 and CMO), Russian model and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova, South Korean DJ and producer Peggy Gou, American model Alton Mason and Italian streetwear designer Francesco Ragazzi.
Prospect 100 previously hosted a benefit contest with the government of Ukraine to support the country’s efforts during the Russian invasion, and featured designer Daniel Arsham as a judge for that contest. Dalliance told Decrypt that the goal with any new competition is to try and raise the stakes with judges’ selections.
“Every Prospect 100 jury panel needs to feel relevant, glamorous and modern,” he said. “Someone like Jeff Koons definitely brings that expertise and relevance that we were looking for, while someone like Kate Moss definitely brings that glamorous aspect that we also appreciate.”
He also highlighted the addition of well-known musicians like Balvin and Gou, as well as Luhrmann, whom Dalliance said he’s known for years but hadn’t worked with. “We are grateful that they have agreed to give us some of their time and likeness to help us raise funds for amfAR’s noble mission,” Dalliance said of the group.
Decrypt contacted representatives for Jenner, Moss, Balvin, Koons and Luhrmann but did not immediately hear back from them.
Additional reporting by Andrew Hayward.