Pride Month is fully underway so it’s a fantastic time to discover some new LGBTQ+ collections and support artists who are all-too-frequently underrepresented or silenced altogether. Web3 is about inclusivity and equality, so here’s a list of the 7 biggest collections and projects to throw your support behind.
#7 Other Eden
https://mobile.twitter.com/Niftys/status/1533988886992588801
Other Eden is a collection focused on supporting the LGBTQ+ community in the UK. It’s touted for release on 9th June and features work from artists including The Plastic Boy, DJ Fat Tony, Munroe Bergdorf and many others - all either community members or allies. Photographer Luke Nugent will create the pieces and they’ll be exhibited in a physical gallery in London. Best of all, proceeds will be donated to help the community. This means money for organisations including Centre, the Outside Project and London’s LGBTQ+ Community shelter.
#6 ClitSplash
https://opensea.io/ClitSplash
Less project and more collective, Clitsplash is nonetheless one of the most important LGBTQ+ movements within the NFT space. Managed by an all-female group it curates NFTs and cryptoart from Cuba. The community focuses its efforts on women, trans and other minority groups. Work from ClitSplash has been exhibited in Cuba but the group continues to grow, with pieces also shown in Miami. A quick perusal of ClitSplash’s OpenSea reveals a mixing pot of varied art styles and genres, many examining gender identity. Despite rapid growth and increased awareness, the collective still encourages artists to reach out via Twitter DM for collaborations, proof that it hasn’t lost sight of its roots.
#5 Melancholy Monsters Club
https://opensea.io/collection/melancholymonstersclub
Melancholy Monsters Club is a collection of 5000 generated monster style PFPs with traits of varying rarity. If that sounds like just another of many similar collections, dig a little deeper. Artist and co-founder Grizzle received a negative reaction when she came out as gay and found solace in her artwork. She created monster characters “who were in love but were living in a world full of humans who saw them and their love as weird, gross, and scary.” Melancholy Monsters was born. The project is 100% LGBTQ+ operated and dedicated to raising visibility across Web3. Moreover, Grizzle has worked in the mental health field for 11 years, providing support and crisis intervention to the LGBTQ+ community.
#4 Pride Icons
https://prideicons.io/
We’ve talked about Pride Icons before but its noble aims make it highly deserving of a mention here, too. The collection consists of 10,000 LGBTQ+ themed characters designed by Max Bahman, but it’s so much more than even that. Owning a Pride Icon gives you entry into a supportive, flourishing community with benefits including worldwide parties and access to LGBTQ+ specific healthcare. Even more impressively, the project aims to donate $1 million to LGBTQ+ community endeavours and charitable works. If this isn’t a collection worth your support then we don’t know what is.
#3 Queer Friends
https://opensea.io/collection/queerfriendsgenesis
Queer Friends exists to increase representation and uplift queer voices across Web3. Its genesis is already sold out on OpenSea but this queer, woman-led NFT collection has only just begun. Community is at the heart of the mission, giving people a place to connect and learn. The team plans to eventually translate PFP characteristics into avatars and wearables, providing maximum representation across the Metaverse. In their own words, the Queer Friends collective doesn’t just want to represent LGBTQ+ voices. They want to celebrate them. Art is, after all, the ultimate form of self-expression.
#2 Gay Aliens
https://twitter.com/thegayaliens/header_photo
Gay Aliens is HUGE and was recently featured in Forbes. The collection has attracted the attention of the Hollywood elite including Brooklyn Beckham and Jason Derulo, plus the team has already partnered up with legendary AR/XR company Altar Inc. This paves the way for augmented reality versions of each alien and dramatically enlarges the scope of what this project could achieve in the future. A sitcom is also planned. A recent interview suggests that the team models itself on the success of BAYC, offering rewards and exclusive memberships to holders. The project’s launch was celebrated with a massive LGBTQ+ New Year’s Eve Party - attended by more than 5000 people!
#1 Unicorn DAO
https://twitter.com/unicorndao_xxx/status/1528809074338344960
Not a collection but a DAO (as you might have guessed) but we simply couldn’t leave Unicorn off the list. It’s the brainchild of Nadya Tolokonnikova (Pussy Riot) and her co-founders. Tolokonnikova is a well-known activist in the NFT Space and beyond. Unicorn DAO was founded on the basic principle that the disruptive nature of Web3 should be used to uplift underrepresented voices, especially women-identified and LGBTQ+ people. Web3 should be a tool for equality. Unicorn DAO’s mission statement contains ambitious goals including “build the infrastructure for a feminist and queer revolution on blockchain” and “give birth to a queer utopia in the Metaverse.” With huge names including Grimes, Sia and Beeple already involved (not to mention the small matter of $4.5 million raised) the DAO looks well on its way to changing the world.
Read More:
Top 11 Most Influential LGBTQ+ NFT Artists
Highlighting Top NFT Collectors
The 8 Most Significant Derivative NFT Projects
