1) Hi thank you for coming by ABC. Can you please introduce yourself? Tell us about your experiences and how you originally got involved in the NFT space?
Hello, my name is Lina Valentina I am a contemporary artist and I currently live between Los Angeles and new york. It’s been many years since I have dedicated my work to women’s causes. On the walls of major cities, as well as on those of famous contemporary art galleries I also collaborated with Adidas® for a unique exhibition at the Shop Palace on Melrose Avenue in 2018.
As an artist, I heard about NFT through my circle of friends very early and once I realized the incredible potential for an artist to have the possibility to express his art in a new form and to reach even more people than with physical art, I immediately wanted to bring my stone to the building of the web 3. in order to leave a mark of my art and its cause engraved forever in the blockchain.
I first observed the market to see what was being done and once I thought I had acquired enough knowledge and information, I began to build a team qualified in web3 that shares my values, we then began to work on the whole project its vision and its goals that I wanted different from others and that supports a cause that is dear to me and that I have been defending for years.
2) In the NFT collection « No More » can you tell us about the Salvador Dali influences and how you came up with the idea of this NFT composition?
Salvador Dali is an artist for whom I have a lot of respect because I love surrealism and his work in general. I started to be really interested in his creations when I was 14 years old during the year I spent in Spain with my parents.
Concerning what gave me the idea for this NFT project, I started with the mouth with a zipper for which I am known for many years and which is very important to me because of what it represents: this mouth with a zipper that cannot close represents this mouth which makes the choice not to be silent on a daily basis.
I think it is very important that people who suffer from domestic violence, harassment or discrimination do not lock themselves in silence. I have wanted since the beginning with my art to denounce all this violence and try to give the courage to all these people to express themselves, the NFTs are just a new way for me to express my art and share it with more people.
No More is a varied collection representing exclusively women of all horizons. I decided to dedicate my project to the violence towards women because it is what I underwent and what I fight daily but No More also aims to encourage all people undergoing violence to have the courage to express themselves.
3) Can you tell us about your partnership with Safe Horizon and your NFT collection?
Safe Horizon is the number one foundation in the US for helping victims of abuse and discrimination. It’s a foundation that I have supported for many years and with whom I exchange a lot about domestic violence, so it is an honor for me to collaborate with them for my first NFT project.
We agreed to pay them a percentage of the royalties that we will receive because I want the people who own my NFTs and thus defend this cause with me to see a part of their investment help many people on a daily basis.
4) Can you tell our listeners about the zipper on the mouth and what it stands for so they have an understanding of the meaning?
Yes of course, as you can see this mouth is composed of an open zipper held by the hand because through this image I would like to pass the message to the victims of violence to have the courage to speak up and not to wall themselves in a destructive silence.
No More represents this mouth that has made the choice not to remain silent.
5) With the artist’s major partnerships in the past, is there something incoming when it comes to the NFT project itself and its partners?
Of course, great collaborations with big NFT projects already well established in the WEB3 will be coming, unfortunately, I can’t reveal the names yet so I encourage you to follow us and stay tuned for the future of the project.
I am also in the process of sharing my project with my network of artists and celebrities that I know so that they can join us to fight for this cause.
Also for all the people who will own an NFT, we will organize an exhibition at The Cool HeArt gallery to expose for the first time my physical and digital art in the same place, at this exhibition many artists and celebs will be present.
6) We understand you will have an art gallery 100% in the metaverse, can you tell our listeners more about this and where it might take place?
Indeed, we are working on a 100% digital gallery in order to allow as many people as possible to enjoy the experience of a gallery without necessarily having to go to the biggest cities in the world, we want art to be accessible to all regardless of their country because for me art must be shared and is a form of expression and denunciation and my dream is to make this experience available to all without any barrier.
Then this gallery will have the first goal to showcase the artists supporting a cause in order to offer them visibility and an exposure whatever their origins, country, or gender. We really want to offer the possibility to everyone to be able to express themselves and to spread awareness for causes that fight for a better world.
Concerning where it will take place, we are currently studying the possibilities, many Metaverses are emerging lately, we are already discussing with some but before announcing with whom we’ll collaborate to develop our gallery, we want to choose it rigorously.
7) With 7777 pieces in the collection, is there something significant behind the number or meaning as to why this amount was selected? Do you plan on launching a second collection to the NFT in the future, and if so will holders of your first collection have special perks?
I wanted to create a rather exclusive collection and I consider the number 7 as a lucky charm, so the choice was quite natural. A second collection is not planned, but the holders of my NFT collection will enjoy discounts on my physical art and will get some free merchandising. We also want to organize real life meetups in the future and with other projects too ! so that No More holders can also enjoy a network with their investment because we know that people who own NFTs like to be able to exchange with people sharing the same enthusiasm as us for WEb 3 in general.
8) Will you be considering listing your collection on centralized marketplaces? And eventually, coming out with your own fungible tokens too?
Yes, the collection will be listed on OpenSea, as it is the biggest NFT exchange platform at the moment. This seems necessary to me in order to gain visibility once the collection is launched.
Concerning the token, we thought about it but if we release one, it will be to create a real ecosystem and not to release a token just to release a token. Because being in the US the regulations for tokens are very strict and I don’t want to release a totally decentralized token that can’t work on any exchange. If I release a token it must be available on exchanges like Crypto.com, Binance or FTX so that it is a real value for my community, and for that I need a company that knows a lot about finance and I confess that it is not currently in my skills as an artist.
9) What is your marketing plan like after launch?
As with all NFT projects we know that it is important to create hype and keep it so that people’s investment becomes profitable.
That’s why we thought about the project so that there is really a post mint sequel, we want to create this metaverse gallery and attract many artists, we want this gallery to be the biggest gallery of the metaverse and we have already planned to showcase many famous artists to give us even more visibility over time.
We will reinvest the revenue from the sales of the NFT in marketing, digital but also physical, we will be featured in the major American and world press, showcase our art in the largest cities and we’ll be constantly seeking to bring new people into the community to always keep a high demand to raise the price of art over time.
As you also know we donate a portion of our royalties to a foundation that I admire, so it’s very important to me that there be high transaction volumes in the secondary market to help as many people as possible.
But honestly, for all the marketing I know my team is very good at it, and with my personal network of celebrities and artists I know we’ll be doing great things for this project.
10) How can holders of this NFT in the future help spread the message of awareness behind stopping the silence of abuse in women? With that, can you leave an inspiring quote for all of us too?
I will answer you very simply because your question already contains the answer. No More wants to bring to light this mouth that has chosen not to be silent, so this mouth must speak.
And I think that in order for more people to be aware of our cause, we need to have people talk about the project and its vision.
We are also trying to create a viral hashtag on the social media: #NoMoreSufferingInSilence #NMSIS
So for all the people who support our cause and want to help put an end to domestic violence, talk about No More around you, and don’t hesitate to put this hashtag as soon as possible in your publications.
Regarding the quote, it’s from a great woman that I respect immensely: “You should never be afraid of what you do, when you do what is right.” Rosa Parks
