Being aware of the world around us, staying at the forefront of new innovations is an important aspect of the UWC movement. New technologies are being developed every day and it is rewarding to see how some of our students and alumni are forging new pathways and using them to create something meaningful.
A great example of this is alumna Carolina Melis (UWCAD 93-95) and her innovative artistic NFT project Kubikino, a generative art collection. She reflects that “after you leave Duino, you realise the College has become part of you, whether you work in politics, business, the public sector or Art.”
Carolina’s field is art and she has dedicated much of her career to animation, in which she specialised in character design. “I think this interest came from my time in Duino, being with such unique people”.
Kubikino marks a major change in artistic direction for Carolina, who teamed up with creative coder Enrico Penzo to create a generative art collection consisting of 320 NFTs (Non-fungible tokens). Each NFT is an individual portrait created by the same sophisticated code and rules using an essential palette and a set of animated shapes, all derived from the circle.
“The project is very linked to the College – it represents a diverse community that celebrates our similarities and differences, creating a sense of togetherness. In many ways I see this as representing the beauty of diversity. For me, artwork needs to mean something that is not pure entertainment, providing a moment to reflect.”
The collection was selected by ArtBlocks – the leading platform for contemporary generative art running on the cryptocurrency blockchain Ethereum and was launched on the 29th of November 2023. The collection sold out (or rather “minted out” as is the case with NFTs) within 28 minutes.
As part of the sale, Carolina donated 25% to the UWC Adriatic Endowment Fund, a legacy for the College to provide financial sustainability and scholarships for the College for generations to come. The donation received from the sale of Kubikino (valued around $12,000) completes the first UWC Adriatic Endowed Scholarship, to be offered to refugee or displaced students in perpetuity, starting in 2024-25.
The pieces are still available for purchase on the secondary market, with the UWC Adriatic Endowment Fund receiving a percentage of the artist fee in perpetuity.
To enable these donations, the UWC Stock Weinberg-Edward Sutcliffe Foundation ONLUS which manages the UWC Adriatic Endowment has registered with Hexsafe to receive donations in cryptocurrency. Thanks to Carolina’s innovative gift through art, others are also able to donate to the UWC Adriatic Endowment Fund via Cryptocurrency via the Foundation’s Page.
