Generative Platforms Explode

In a demonstration of the growing popularity of the generative coded movement, lerandom.art.

With the proliferation of generative AI tools in 2022 (DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion), it’s not surprising to see platforms arise to service the growing field. These included Fellowship by Alejandro Cartegena, BrainDrops by Gene Kogan, Emergent Properties, K011 and SkaldaAI.

Cartegena, a photographer with work in SFMOMA, co-founded Fellowship in 2021 as an NFT photography platform, which since transitioned to an AI focus.

In December 2022, Johann König relaunched EXPANDED.ART—formerly Misa, which had been founded in July, 2021—as a physical gallery in Berlin and online marketplace. It focuses on integrating Web3 technology, contextualizing digital pioneers and supporting female and non-binary artists.

Another vibrant platform that’s appeared during this time is Highlight, co-founded by Nat Emodi, which affords artists several minting options and chains.

Around this time, Bitcoin Ordinals also began growing its community. This followed the first ordinal inscription, which took place in December 2022, kicking high levels of the possibilities of digital ownership beyond currency on Bitcoin. This reminds of the previous decade’s earliest NFT ideas, which featured essentially the only options available at the time: Bitcoin and its forks, like Namecoin. Bitcoin’s place in this history was secure before Ordinals, but certainly makes it even more relevant now. Two Ordinals platforms arose: Imagine Art and Generative.

Finally, several “Open Minting” platforms appeared around this time that aimed to enable creators with an ever-expanding suite of mixed-media digital tools. These platforms included the previously mentioned Highlight, which proved to be the most enduring. Others are Alba, EditArt, Mint256, Prohibition and Re-tain.

This interest in platform growth between 2022 and 2023 demonstrated the deep impact these emerging technologies had on a variety of new media practices and interventions.