Digital Districts: ALLSHIPS
ALLSHIPS: a Creative Community dedicated to the idea that a rising tide raises all ships.
Welcome to "Digital Districts" – a captivating segment in ONBD Magazine that delves into the dynamic world of Web 3 communities.
In today's exclusive feature on Digital Districts, let's take a journey with Dave Krugman, the visionary behind ALLSHIPS—a Creative Community dedicated to the idea that a rising tide raises all ships. Born from a desire to escape the pressures of constant online content creation, ALLSHIPS has seamlessly evolved into a dynamic hub for global collaboration, featuring events, interviews, and artistic endeavors. Join us as we explore the mission fueling ALLSHIPS and gain insights into Dave's perspective on the transformative impact of Web3 on the creative process.
How did the idea to start ALLSHIPS come about?
Dave Krugman: ALLSHIPS was born out of a desire to create a space for creatives outside of the circadian cycle of content creation. As a creative with over a decade of experience in the social media grind- the endless chase of algorithmic favor, the constant pressure to put new work out, the social consequences of being eternally online- I felt in the deepest part of my soul that I needed to create an oasis away from that.
I began hosting small get-togethers at a piano bar speakeasy in Brooklyn, where we all put our phones down, embraced the opportunity to connect in real life, and got to know each other, eye to eye and heart to heart. When Covid hit and the world locked down- I redoubled my efforts online and launched our hub - ALLSHIPS.CO, where I interview artists in long form talks. Since our launch, we’ve expanded in every direction, hosting dinner parties, concerts, gallery shows, collaborations, art drops, merch, prints and so much more. Our goal is to build out our creative world and to build on land we own.
What’s the mission of ALLSHIPS?
Dave Krugman: The mission of ALLSHIPS is to prove a creative life is possible. Technology unlocks abundance, and every screen is an infinite canvas for creative work. By banding together and celebrating each other, we ensure that we can reach our full potential as artists. Our mission is to help clear a path for creatives to get them closer to a world in which they can thrive from their creative efforts.
Many people in Web3, ourselves included, entered the space because we saw an opportunity for industries like art, tech, and music to do things differently using the blockchain. Sure ownership of digital assets or digital identity, for example. Could you talk a bit about your take on this?
Dave Krugman: Absolutely. The moment we find ourselves in is nothing short of a revolution. To cut to the core of it- blockchain allows us to create digital objects. The internet never had native objects- only mirrors and copies of files, tucked away on endless servers, with no actual source object to refer to. Blockchain allows for the creation of a digital original- where all other copies simply increase the awareness of the original.
To use a grandiose example, a pre-blockchain internet of art is like a world where there were only posters of the Mona Lisa, and no original painting. With blockchain, we now have the digital object, so every “poster” is an advertisement for the original object. It's hard to overstate the importance of that shift. Now artists can do everything they are used to doing in the “real” world but in our online social spaces. The advantages of doing it this way are abundant as well. It is a frictionless, highspeed, global network- embedded into our social experience. This closeness between artist and patron is deeply transformational for art in general. The barriers of the traditional artwork- both physical and metaphorical, are being broken down by these technology layers.
It's still tremendously early in this experiment- but I think the fundamental shift here is so powerful for internet based artists that there is no putting this genie back in the bottle. I’m excited and eager to see the future of art unfold over the years to come.
ALLSHIPS covers a lot of the activities that an art gallery, or marketing agency would - have you ever thought about ALLSHIPS taking an artist agency type of role?
Dave Krugman: My goal for ALLSHIPS for now is to be nebulous and flexible, shifting with advances in technology, being nimble and adept so we can maximize our efforts towards our overarching mission. In many cases, the winds will blow us into all of these areas. The one thing I want to avoid is replicating the systems we are trying to disrupt. Often the innovators end up becoming the very thing they worked so hard to disrupt. I am willing to do all I can to help artists learn and thrive in these new environments, but I don’t want to end up in a place where I’m standing between the artist and their audience, taking a fee. I think that these new technology layers allow for new models- and my goal is to explore those possibilities as deeply as possible.
Do you plan on ALLSHIPS communities forming in other cities outside of New York?
Dave Krugman: We often activate in cities all over the world- but to answer the question more directly, I would LOVE if we had a more chapter based structure where people could have local hubs all over the world. I’m wary of scale in the sense that the more you expand your efforts the more you cede control of the vision, but I do think our long-term goal is to spread out across many landscapes and encourage and help local community leaders rally their own communities. All value is rooted in community- the more we can encourage others to pour energy into the people around them, the more we can all rise.
As an artist yourself, could you talk a little bit about how Web3 has impacted your work and process?
Dave Krugman: A great question, and one I think about very often. A lot of artists in my generation, myself included, never found a place in the traditional world. Our communities- the people who surrounded us, encouraged us, and gave our work value- were the ones we found in online spaces. Galleries didn’t care about followers or social media or how many people you could reach with a post (many do now, of course).
Thus, our efforts were mainly digital, and before blockchain, as we discussed, those digital worlds were very fleeting. Even your very identity is rented from a centralized social media company, and the artwork you labored so hard to create had a very short half-life. It would be distributed to your network over the day, and then slowly taper off, pushed down in the sea of other people's efforts.
Enter blockchain, digital objects, self-sovereignty, and peer-to-peer value exchange networks. This totally shifted the landscape for those willing to understand and embrace it. Now we are building long term projects on land we own. Instead of peddling pure attention, we are working with actual assets- and having assets allows us to have longer term visions, since investing in someone's art aligns your incentives with theirs. These digital objects give a sense of ownership and participation which is such a deeper bond between creator and consumer. My social media- which used to be my lifeline to being a working artist- is now my community building tool. My lifeline is now my long term projects, creative ideas at the intersection of art and technology, and a vast global network of collectors who directly contribute to my longevity as an artist.
I’d rather have 1000 engaged collectors than 1 million passive followers. That truth is a distillation of the outsized effects this technology stack has had on me as an artist.
Any tips for newcomers in the crypto space?
Dave Krugman: Yes! Community is the root of all value. Money is a token in which we move that value through space and time. Focus on building your community before you launch your big ideas.
Add value before you ask for value and you’ll never have to ask. Your community is like a battery, you charge it by helping others, and you can draw power from it in the moments you need it. Be curious, and helpful, don’t tear others down, embrace new technology and change. Focus on your health, both physical and mental, and family and friends should come before internet strangers.
Most of all, have fun, if you aren’t enjoying the process it's not worth the struggle. Be authentically you so you attract the people you want around you. No one is an island and if you are lucky enough to succeed it will be largely due to the people around you.
Additionally, on ALLSHIPS I ask this same question of everyone I interview. So check through those articles for a wide range of advice on this very topic!
Dave Krugman
Dave Krugman is a New York-based photographer, crypto artist, and the founder of ALLSHIPS, a Creative Community dedicated to the idea that a rising tide raises all ships. His photographic work is an ode to cyberpunk inspirations and he works to reveal the beauty at confluences of circumstance.
Dave is fascinated by the endless possibilities that exist at the intersection of art and technology and works in these layers to elevate artists and enable them to thrive in creative careers. As our world becomes exponentially more visual, he seeks to prove that there is tremendous value in the visual arts, and in embracing curiosity and new ideas. His Cryptoart projects include DRIVE, Drip Drop, ROLLS, SPECTERS, Editions, and SuperRare works.
To connect with Dave, add him across socials via the Link Tree.
