Podcast: NFTs are the future of art says Paris Hilton

These days you’re more likely to find Paris Hilton in the virtual world of Roblox, modelling her pixelated fashion collection or on marketplaces like OpenSea and Nifty where she buys but also sells her own NFT (non fungible token) artworks, which are digital collectables that are verified using blockchain technology.

“I’m just so excited about this whole new NFT world. I think it’s definitely the future of art. Everything is going digital and it’s very exciting to be a part of,” says Paris.

“I’ve been talking to a lot of incredible leaders in this space like Whaleshark, who has been an incredible mentor. I’ve learned so much about it in the past few months.”

Paris’ NFT mentor Whaleshark is an anonymous collector with more than 400,000 items in his portfolio. He is a British born based in Hong Kong and much like the creator of Bitcoin, wishes to be known by his pseudonym alone.

Her first drop (release of NFT artworks) came from a collaboration with Los Angeles based visual artist, Blake Kathryn, with whom she collaborated to create art incorporating animals and dreamscapes, as Paris describes it.

“She’s an incredible female artist and really speaks to me as a woman. We connected through (NFT marketplace) Nifty. I was super excited because I’ve always loved her work.”

I am so excited to be partnering with the amazing @BlakeKathryn for my first ever #NFT drop. 🔥🚀🔥 Blake has such a signature style and I can't wait to show you this collaboration 💓💓 Read all about the drop: https://t.co/JWEY8yJnt6 pic.twitter.com/uI7COeGqTl

— ParisHilton.eth (@ParisHilton) April 12, 2021

Paris has been dabbling in NFTs since 2016, and in 2020 she won the “Best Charity NFT” at the NFT Awards.

“I’m told the NFT Awards aren’t quite as prestigious as the Oscars quite yet but they’re [getting] there,” jokes Paris’ husband and founder of M13 Ventures, Carter Reum.

He is equally enthused by the world of NFTs and thinks they are here to stay: “Obviously there’s a lot of hype and euphoria about NFTs … I think that can be said for a lot of different industries [but] I think it’s clear that … [they] are going to be here for a long time”.

Carter explains that NFTs remove the middleman and allow artists and creators to reach their customers directly. He says they are doing this in a way that allows for better economics and more authenticity because NFTs can be tracked and traced back to the owner.

“Arguably the reason they have gotten so much hype is that it is the most here and now use case of the blockchain,” he adds.

The venture capitalist goes on to link NFTs to the metaverse, explaining that the reason people are using cryptocurrency to purchase NFTs items is the same reason they buy luxury items in real life.

“In a world where – five or ten years from now – we’re all moving around Roblox or other virtual worlds, why wouldn’t you want an NFT of virtual goods like sneakers or something, because you can see it’s the same status [seeking] when you move around the metaverse as it is in real life.”

Main image: Web Summit