The spirit of art and technological advancements continue to be driven by those that push the limits of what is possible and go against the status quo. Such innovators have helped develop some of today’s most newsworthy topics in art and tech, like NFTs and Web3. And despite the constant need for new and pioneering individuals to advance these ideas, we currently live in a world where many of those inventive thinkers are clouded by mere imitators. That is where HXOUSE, a Toronto-based think-center, incubator, and accelerator, comes into play. This year, StockX has partnered with HXOUSE to help find those innovators in communities all across the country through HXOUSE Tours. Each tour sets up workshops and seminars with some of the leading names in Web3 and art, and gathers creative thinkers within each respective area to enhance their crafts and establish connections with each other.
Last week, the HXOUSE Tour set shop in Miami, FL to learn more about the ever-growing talent within South Beach. Similar to this year’s past HXOUSE Tours, the event featured both a panel and an NFT-based competition, building bridges between the city’s foremost digital creatives and professionals. This panel was hosted by the world’s largest Supreme collector, Joe Migraine, and featured three of Miami’s most prominent creatives. Jose N. Silva, Aniko Berman, and Illangelo shared their stories and communicated to the rising artists with sound advice that focused on finding your niche, being authentic in your work, and staying hungry for knowledge.
StockX x HXOUSE Miami Panelist: Jose N. Silva
Jose N. Silva is an example of continuously finding one’s niche and using that as a leaping pad to spark other interests. Silva is known for his photographic works, putting his talents to work for brands and publications like Nike, Spotify, and The New York Times just to name a few. But before shooting amazing moments for these companies, he started off using photography as a memento to capture his day-to-day life. His drive for knowledge and being a sponge for information didn’t stop with photography, as he has learned ways to express his art through other mediums and platforms. Alongside his photographic skills, Silva has gone to produce NFTs of his photographs and other digital creations and was the first Venezuelan NFT artist to exhibit at Sotheby’s.
“As a photographer, people have told me to find my niche and just stick to that. But I could never get down with that,” says Silva. “I’m always interested in things and those interests have created a lot of fruitful returns. Learning all of these things has improved my creativity.”
StockX x HXOUSE Miami Panelist: Aniko Berman
Aniko Berman is one of today’s biggest players within the Web3 and NFT space. As a Web3 Artist Manager for talent management firm LEVELS Digital, she is constantly looking for the next leaders to excel in the world of NFT and the burgeoning Web3 scene. Before supporting artists for LEVELS, she was the Director of Art Partnerships for OneOf, a platform connecting fans to their favorite musicians, teams, and brands all through NFTs. Currently, the biggest part of her role at LEVELS is to make sure that the artists she represents have all the tools they need to succeed and continue nourishing their creativity, while simultaneously making sure their work is represented both in physical and digital forms to present to larger audiences.
“If art has a physical presence to it and it’s not just on a screen, people become more understanding of that art form, ”says Berman. “Ultimately, I understand the artist’s goals and want to bring that outside world into this new space.”
StockX x HXOUSE Miami Panelist: Illangelo
Illangelo carries a lot of titles under his belt. Aside from being a record producer for The Weeknd’s “After Hours” album, and a songwriter for some of the greatest artists like Kanye West and Post Malone, he is also a Grammy-award winner for his work on The Weeknd’s “Beauty Behind the Madness” album. The multi-faceted artist continues to stay busy through his live streaming DJ sessions on his JoyOdyssey Twitch channel and has created his own set of AI-generated butterfly NFTs titled Metonia. Illangelo says that all of his successes can be traced back to simply having fun with the process.
“Just do whatever is the most fun, it’s an amazing way to decide what to do. When I start putting everything in the perspective of ‘What’s gonna be the most fun?’, then the process starts to happen more smoothly,” says Illangelo.
StockX x HXOUSE Miami Panel Host: Joe Migraine
Joe Migraine was the perfect host for an event like this, not just because the Supreme products he collects are somewhat tied to the audience that attracts NFTs. Mr. Migraine, similar to the panelists, has followed the thing that he finds the most interesting to him. Joe Migraine is known as one of the world’s largest Supreme collectors in the world, with a collection that is worth well over hundreds of thousands of dollars. But he doesn’t let that title stop him from collecting other items as well, as he collects art and, more recently, graded video games. When he’s not adding minted products to his collection, Joe Migraine is working at StockX as Director of Business Development for Collectibles (very fitting). As host to the Miami panel, Migraine contributed to the NFT conversation, explaining how the introduction of Web3 and the Metaverse will help build the establishment for more artists to be discovered and flourish.
“With more spaces, there becomes greater output,” says Joe Migraine. “And when there’s greater output, we can find the next great photographer, artist, or producer and they’ll get discovered based on the various forms of entry.”
