Hicetnunc (HEN) Founded by Rafael Lima

On March 1, Hicetnunc (HEN) officially launched its mainnet along with the OBJKT Swap Protocol on Tezos, which enabled NFT transactions. With low monetary barriers to entry and no gatekeepers, Hicetnunc exploded onto the digital art scene as a marketplace, fostering a loyal following of digital creatives from around the globe but particularly the Global South.

Before HEN, many established generative artists were skeptical of NFTs and avoided associations with them. As respected artists such as Mario Klingemann became some of the earliest adopters, HEN gained instant legitimacy. The platform rapidly became popular with a near-utopian, frenzied community. This explosion of creativity brought generative art from South America, with its illustrious legacy, to the entire world.

This author, Peter Bauman, wrote about critical moments throughout generative art history in South America on a collaboration with Bright Moments.