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Best-selling author, long-time Weight Watchers spokesperson, and self-described global humanitarian, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is trying on a new hat: that of digital art gallerist.<\/p>\n
The ambitions of the Duchess Gallery are grand; the details, however, are vague. It promises to mint \u201cCinematic Fine Art<\/a>,\u201d a somewhat undefined m\u00e9lange of digital art, A.I. art, animated paintings, special effects, and spoken word poetry. The result, it claims, will be a new form of storytelling, one bringing cutting-edge technology to traditional aesthetics.<\/p>\n Ferguson\u2019s latest business venture arrives through a partnership with curated NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway<\/a>, with technical production support provided by BLKPRL Studios and Candy Studios.<\/p>\n The gallery\u2019s first show, \u201cGateway To The Self,\u201d is a collaboration between the Duchess herself, actor Laurence Fuller, and artists David Cheifetz, Mathijs, Jenni Pasanen, and Tania Rivilis. The news was announced during Miami Art Week 2022<\/a> with the launch taking place on December 22.<\/p>\n Cover Art: \u201cGateway To The Self\u201d Exhibition<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAs technology evolves, traditional aesthetics can find a new life in this contemporary viral world,\u201d Ferguson said in a statement. \u201cI am delighted to work collaboratively with renowned artists, and as well highlight emerging artists worldwide to expand my passion for storytelling through art.\u201d<\/p>\n The scant aesthetic specifics provided suggest the gallery will focus on works that put a contemporary spin on traditional paintings from the Pre-Raphaelite and Romantic movements of the 1800s. For inspiration, the press release cites the influence of poets John Keats and Charles Baudelaire on contemporaneous painters, though who precisely today\u2019s poets are in the analogy remains unclear.<\/p>\n If the work the Duchess Gallery hopes to mint and platform are ill-defined, the goals of the gallery are equally dubious and have a something of a savior complex tinge. \u201cI intend to collaborate and feature artists from all over the world,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cI am especially interested in highlighting artists from impoverished nations, who may not otherwise have an opportunity to showcase their talents on a worldwide stage.\u201d<\/p>\n At a time of winnowing confidence in all things crypto and with the trading of NFTs down 97 percent year-on-year, will the entrance of British royalty<\/a> into the NFT scene provide some timely credibility? Nifty Gateway certainly thinks so.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing the Duchess of York enter the digital art space is incredible validation for the medium,\u201d Griffin Cock Foster, founder of Nifty Gateway, said in a statement. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t be more excited to host this gorgeous, exciting collection from the Duchess of York on Nifty Gateway.\u201d<\/p>\n