Astro Bug

DANIA BEACH, Fla. - AstroBug -- In the midst of National Poetry Month, Mad Arts, the first art and technology museum started by a creative agency, is proud to announce the acquisition of a significant portfolio of digital poems curated by theVERSEverse. The 20 digital poems acquired by Mad Arts represent one of the largest digital poetry acquisitions by a museum to date and reflect the ambitious program that Mad Arts has undertaken to become an innovating fixture of South Florida's flourishing art and technology ecosystem. Marc Aptakin, founder and CEO of Mad Arts, says "theVERSEverse is reimagining how poems are both made and delivered, and we are honored to work with them to find new and innovative ways to bring these amazing works to life."

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theVERSEverse – a woman-led collective of poets, artists, and creative technologists – commissions, curates, and sells digital poems, emphasizing craft and creating lasting value that can support artists financially. Co-founder Ana María Caballero says,
"I believe blockchain provenance will prove revolutionary for poets, transforming the way we transact our poems and bring them into the world, connecting new audiences with their sorcery." Of the artists in Mad's acquisition, Caballero adds: "From photography to generative AI, algorithmic coding to performance, the visual language of the works complements the written words in truly evocative forms."

The collection includes "Medusa," a piece by artist Anne Spalter – whose work is in the collection of the Centre Pompidou – in collaboration with poet Nathaniel Stern. It also includes "I Saw You," a poem by Nicole Tallman, poetry ambassador for Miami-Dade County, with enigmatic visuals by May Naibo, a Kenyan photographer and creative technologist.

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Also acquired is "VICE II"  a powerful piece by French-American artist Pierre Gervois, whose work is already present in the permanent collections of the Museum of Wild and Newfangled Art (New York City) and the Tezos Foundation (London).

"Confessional" is by Guggenheim and NEA fellow Denise Duhamel and Cuban artist Marlon Portales, and "Consejo a la hija que nunca tendré" was penned by Caridad Moro-Gronlier, the newly appointed poet laureate of Miami-Dade County, with hallucinatory visuals by Los Angeles-based new media artist Ellie Pritts.

These and the rest of the digital poetry works will be exhibited in Summer 2024 at Mad Arts' 50,000 square-foot museum in Dania Beach, Florida, with an opening announcement forthcoming. The works will be part of an educational initiative that will explore how cutting-edge technologies of web3 and blockchain intersect with one of the world's oldest art forms.