MONNAIE DE PARIS NFT EXHIBIT

 

What do you get when you cross a 1,100-year-old coin mint with the future of digital art?

France's la Monnaie de Paris, the world's oldest active monetary institution—known for its centuries-old tradition of minting physical coins—has opened its doors to the very technology that seeks to disrupt its existence

Founded in 864 by the King of France with the mission to mint French coins, La Monnaie de Paris is now responsible for minting euros for France.

It carries out the activity of manufacturing collectible coins too and is also the historical manufacturer of official decorations and grand orders, such as the Legion of Honor or the National Order of Merit.

Now, though, the institution is turning its attention to something much different: an NFT exhibition.

BABEL is the fruit of a collaboration between the British artist and crypto-art pioneer Robert Alice, the NFT platform La Collection, which collaborates with the most prestigious art institutions in the world, and the curators and conservators of La Monnaie de Paris.

It carries out the activity of manufacturing collectible coins too and is also the historical manufacturer of official decorations and grand orders, such as the Legion of Honor or the National Order of Merit.

Now, though, the institution is turning its attention to something much different: an NFT exhibition.

BABEL is the fruit of a collaboration between the British artist and crypto-art pioneer Robert Alice, the NFT platform La Collection, which collaborates with the most prestigious art institutions in the world, and the curators and conservators of La Monnaie de Paris.

The main challenge, said Alice, was to respond to the very specific brief he was given: an exhibition that responds directly to the La Monnaie de Paris collection.

A lot of the work in this show is quite provocative, like the history of the financial crisis in a building that has made money for 1,200 years, Robert Alice told Decrypt. There is also a VR experience that makes you stuck in a room, artworks telling the story of the narcissism of the building, which is looking back on itself, reflecting its own glory. You also have the reference to Virunga National Park in Congo, which points to French colonialism and the economic colonialism that is the CFA currency.

The CFA franc—Franc de la Communauté Financière Africaine—is a currency used by several countries in West and Central Africa that are members of the CFA franc zone. These countries are former French colonies, and the currency is guaranteed by the French treasury.

Questioning the role of centralized powers, Alice's work reflects on the potential impact of blockchain and cryptocurrencies on traditional institutions.

In a room downstairs, the Babel Screens have been installed next to the workshop where coins are minted.

The screens project texts about the history of blockchain and crypto, he said. So a man there, doing the same craft for 1,000 years, is now bombarded by these texts, which have to do with this new world, which potentially could see the end of their world.

Despite the provocative nature of his work, Alice says he has built strong relationships with the institution. "They opened up their home to someone from a very different point of view: decentralized versus centralized, he told Decrypt.

To read the complete article, see:
World's Oldest Operational Coin Mint Opens Doors to New NFT Exhibit in Paris (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/worlds-oldest-operational-coin-mint-161825183.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
J.S.G. BOGGS ESTATE TO ISSUE NFTS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n03a19.html)
BOGGS ESTATE SELLS NFTS, RECEIPT AND CHANGE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n42a17.html)

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