Bitcoin Magazine Art Gallery Opening – Bitcoin Magazine
Nashville, TN. – Bitcoin Magazine has unveiled the Bitcoin Magazine Art Gallery (BMAG), an exhibition space and storefront with a prison cell exhibit dedicated to Bitcoin pioneer Ross Ulbricht, who faces a double life sentence plus 40 years for his role in founding the darknet marketplace Silk Road. The location will serve as an outlet for Bitcoin-related apparel, hardware, and the print edition of Bitcoin Magazine, while the art gallery will feature exclusive images from the leading creatives in the Bitcoin space, as well as emerging artists to showcase their work.
The exhibit dedicated to Ulbricht is a recreation of his prison cell at Tucson State Penitentiary. The 10-foot-by-6-foot space, which is exactly the same size as the room shared by Ulbricht and another inmate, has iron bars and a sink and toilet combination found in American prisons. The exhibition features writings and paintings from Ulbricht, as well as scannable information kits about Ulbricht’s history, sentencing and the ongoing mission to secure his freedom. A mounted TV shows a video animation of drawings made by Ulbricht in prison.
“Ross’ family and I are so grateful to BTC Inc for steadfastly supporting Ross over the years and not letting him be forgotten as we work toward his freedom,” said Lynn Ulbricht, Ross’ mother. “This installation, which provides a facsimile of Ross’s cage and showcases his amazing work, is a powerful reminder that this exceptional man and pioneer is doomed to die in prison unless something changes.”
Prints of the artwork created by Ulbricht will be available for purchase and all proceeds will be donated to FreeRoss.org. In addition, an original painting by Bitcoin Magazine’s artist-in-residence, Tommy Marcheschi, will be offered to anyone willing to make a donation to the Ulbricht Freedom Trust of 183 million cents, the cent equivalent of the dollar amount Ulbricht was ordered to pay. by the courts.
“We seek to creatively stimulate donations and raise awareness for the effort to free Ross Ulbricht and give him the rest of his life back,” Marcheschi explained. “As long as he is in state custody, none of us ‘Bitcoiners’ are truly free.”
As Ulbricht enters his 10th year in prison, the exhibition hopes to bring attention to an issue Bitcoin Magazine has tried to highlight in the past, including hosting Ulbricht’s writing and featuring an audio message recorded by Ulbricht in prison at Bitcoin 2021 – the conference.
In addition to the Ulbricht exhibit, some examples of the exceptional artwork that will be on display include works such as Brekkie von Bitcoin’s carved calacatta marble sculpture “AWAKENING” and Trevor Jones’ oil and microcrystalline wax piece on a copy of the Financial Times titled, “The Architect (Satoshi Nakamoto).”
Describing why this space is important, Dennis Koch, Bitcoin Magazine’s art gallery coordinator, said: “Meeting places like Bitcoin Park in Nashville or Bitcoin Commons in Austin confirm that there is no substitute for spending time with Bitcoiners in real life. The same goes for the new Bitcoin Magazine Art Gallery. We want to build a tactical meeting and exhibition space for artists. Nashville has a tangible bitcoin vibe, and BMAG is going to be a big part of this expanding scene. Koch described the link between art and bitcoin, and explained: “Selling artwork for rate is an artist’s way of mining. Artists know that proof-of-work and energy transmutation have always been part of the alchemical process of painting.”
