Today we announced our first acquisition to begin the @fndzionaversano initiative of $50,000 grants that I raised from my recent project, Moments of the Unknown, to support more artists by collecting their art! Our first mission is to start in our backyard here in the US. The plan over the next 10 months is to connect with and curate a group of artists living, working, born in, or art made in the 50 states! We will be supporting 50 artists with up to $1,000 each. Collecting an artwork to represent each state, by the end of phase 1 we would have supported an artist from every state. If you are not in the US and wanted to be involved in this initiative, we will do our best to raise $200,000 for phase 2. Which will allow us to then collect art from 200 artists, to discover an artist and collect up to $1,000 from every country to create the “Global Gallery” I have been dreaming up in my MOTU manifesto since the projects launch in 2024. We aim to support all artists, from the OGs to the emerging and established artists. Our goal is to tell a story through the art we collect. Whether it is personal, or a collective. We aim to find and explore the meaning and vision behind each work. For @annespalter work, the significance represents my journey through tarot. Connecting with my dear friend and collector @ordinals_guy who we met through my tarot project, Smoke and Mirrors, and quickly became the largest collector. We became very close and believes in my practice and vision where he became a co-founder of the organization along with my beloved @ViktoriaNagibi1, who has recently helped me paint all the MOTU paintings and posted all our MOTU podcast on Spotify and soon to be Apple and YouTube. Why the world card? Well, we aim to make an impact through art in the world and put together this global gallery. Hopefully, year after year, and sustain the fondazioneaversano.eth to keep uplifting artists for 100+ years! This first phase is purely deploying funds to artists as inaugural project. Other projects around the world will take place in time; such as working with medicine, specifically cancer. And working with farmers around all 50 states, to understand where our food security and system comes from. As we travel the 50 states to make our personal artwork with cancer and farmers, and collect art from said artists from each state. We aim to meet with you and work in your community as best we can. Thank you to @im_jonooo & @tyaagnliu & the team at @SuperRare for bringing this work to us and hosting a show this evening at the Fondazione Aversano Pop-up Gallery. We have 49 states to go and aim to collect 4 more artists by Sept 23rd. We will hold frequent open calls, with special guest curators throughout the year so we can expand our minds and taste. Submit your art, and submit it often because sometimes it takes a few times or the right curator for the art to connect. This isn’t about what art is the best, it is about what art we genuinely connect with at the time. When you do submit via under our open calls posts please include your name, artwork, collection, year, and the state you aim to represent. We accept all chains, because we love and appreciate all art. Thank you and grateful to do our best to build up a community you’d like to be part of. – at Manhattan, NY