- Fractionalized NFT platform Particle has loaned a Banksy painting to museums in Barcelona, Amsterdam and England
- The agreement to loan the artwork was reached by 10,000 collectors who each own a fraction of the artwork
- The artwork dubbed ‘Love is in the Air’ was divided into 10,000 collectible pieces in 2021
Fractionalized NFT platform Particle has loaned a Banksy painting to museums in Barcelona, Amsterdam and England after its 10,000 fractional owners agreed to a proposal to do so. The artwork dubbed ‘Love is in the Air’ was fractionalized into 10,000 collectible pieces in 2021. The NFT platform bought the entire artwork for $12.9 million and resold each fractional piece at $1,500 and offered collectors an option to resell their portion on the open market.
Fractional NFTs Bring in a Larger Audience
The artwork will first land in England where it’ll grace ‘The Urban Frame: Mutiny in Colour’ art exhibition this month before making its way to Barcelona and Amsterdam for a combined one year shared equally between the two locations.
Exciting news! Banksy’s iconic “Love Is In The Air”, generously loaned by Particle co-owners, begins its Europe tour 💐 https://t.co/1YZ3OtR3Ks
— Particle Collection (@Collectparticle) July 13, 2023
Speaking to Decrypt, Particle CEO Harold Eytan observed that the ownership of physical and digital art pieces is bound to enter a new era as more institutions embrace virtual collectibles. He added that turning high-value physical artworks into fractional NFTs allows them to reach a larger audience.
According to Eytan, the fractionalized NFT platform acts as a custodian with fractional owners deciding what to do with an artwork. The executive added that the platform democratizes the process of owning and enjoying artworks.
‘Love is in the Air’ Isn’t the Only One
Although the fractionalized NFT is among the few such artworks to physically make their way into museums, it’s not the only NFT-linked project to make it to a museum. In February, for example, Yuga Labs donated a CryptoPunk to be featured in Paris art museum Centre Pompidou’s display.
With the fractionalized Banksy painting touring the world, more high-value physical artworks are likely to be turned into NFTs and leave storage rooms to NFT collectors who love traditional art.
