Artist Kensho Kenji and Project Manager Moses Opensea are just two of the many people bringing The Futures to life. The collaborative NFT project has been a massive undertaking, with artists, programmers and entrepreneurs coming together to create a universe that bridges the virtual and physical realms, and does so with the planet in mind. “The concept is to create a physical and digital brand (phygital) creating a sort of symbiosis between our real and digital lives”, explains Kensho and Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Great is an experienced crypto ecologist, who worked closely with Kensho to develop this project, all the while keeping sustainability front and centre.
Holistic sustainability
“We started by focusing on the gas fees which were one of our main concerns with minting a project of this size and the waste of energy that came with it”, Cyrus the Great shares. “We want The Futures to offset carbon emissions.” Using a holistic approach, the creators behind The Futures felt that their sustainability efforts needed to involve their community, as they sparked meaningful discourse about sustainability within the phygital sphere. “Our hope is that they [the community] will become more conscious about their everyday choices and continue to have a positive impact on our planet.” A portion of project royalties are also being allocated to tackle environmental issues that The Futures deem most important. “Post mint, we have already planned a series of exciting sustainable projects such as the creation of green spaces which use renewable energies in various cities across Europe. The complete list will be published after mint over summer 2023.”
Community-driven
Community lies at the heart of everything at The Futures. Oftentimes, members are a part of the brainstorming process, and have the opportunity to offer their opinions and be a part of the many projects surrounding this venture. “The importance comes in putting the community at the centre of all decisions, strategies, and action plans. Knowledge is key”, explains Moses. He notes that the larger the community and more involved they are, the better equipped The Futures will be to tackle any challenge or hurdle they may come across. “The idea is not only to create a top-down culture, it must also be horizontal and transversal.”
A big part of the community at The Futures involves the tight-knit team that brought this project to life. Alongside Kensho, Moses and Cyrus The Great are a host of other experienced multihyphenates looking to change the way we see the phygital world. Case in point: Green Mamma, the environmental guru leading all of The Future’s initiatives in protecting the environment and Miyamotorro, who takes care of events, and is a professional MMA fighter with “a heart of gold”.
The biggest advantage of working with such a large and diverse group of people is being able to engage with different creative individuals with their unique skillsets. It’s almost like a crash course into art, design and programming mixed into one.
Moses Opensea
As for the elusive artist Kensho Kenji? “My role as the artist has been to bring to life The Futures Avatars alongside our team of graphic designers, marketing, community building, and being awake long hours with Moses developing the blueprints of The Futures and what it can bring to the phygital.” Presenting himself under the pseudonym Kensho Kenji for the very first time, the artist has previously worked with some of the biggest names in the contemporary art world including Sotheby’s and Phillips just to name a few.
Digital? Physical? Phygital?
The Futures aims to take a slightly different approach in regards to how it operates both digitally and physically. Kensho took his time before entering the NFT space, while taking great care to hand draw The Futures avatars using paper and charcoal. “It was important to me to take an old school approach to ensure each avatar was perfect. I was very anti generating avatars without any control”, Kensho explains. “I am looking forward to the day we will be exhibiting The Futures avatars next to their painted counterparts within a blue-chip gallery space,” Kensho reveals. “Spilling the beans a little bit here.”
Moses echoes this sentiment. “Anything is possible and we are surely looking at development projects in the physical realm in the future.” Crafting The Futures and building this digital universe was a project that none of them took lightly. “We wanted to work with architects to make full use of spaces and how we could apply purpose and value to our holders. Non-members will have limited access and be granted additional access if accompanied by a Futures.”
We believe that linking our digital to our physical lives in a responsible manner, especially at this early stage of adoption, will set a new tone for future projects to come with a similar mindset. This will ultimately bring about a positive impact for our environment.
Moses Opensea
Editor
Carina Fischer
