Kusama

KSM Art&Social ExperimentsINITIATIVE

Funding artistic and social experiments that lean into the cypherpunk movement, critically exploring digital identity, privacy, and sovereignty.

CALL FOR PROJECTS

// OUR MISSION

KSM Art & Social Experiments Initiative is a community-led project built on Kusama, an experimental, unaudited blockchain network. The Initiative provides grants for artists and social practitioners to become a part of the cypherpunk narrative.

The Initiative will accept applications for funding from those who communicate the philosophies of the movement through experiments, dialogues and works of art. Other projects will also be considered, but all should be at least broadly aligned with the cypherpunk philosophy.

"Expect chaos. Embrace experimentation. Build the unexpected."

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// CYPHERPUNKISM

In 1992, electronic engineer Timothy May and programmer Eric Hughes gathered a group of cryptographers, mathematicians, and hackers to discuss how encryption communication systems could overcome state surveillance. The civil rights advocate Jude Milhon, inspired by the cyberpunk fiction movement with its novels of technologically immersive scenarios and rebellious characters, subtly adapted the word and labelled May, Hughes and their disciples cypherpunks. The word stuck, and the movement continues to this day, reflected in the rise of Bitcoin and other decentralized networks.

// WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Successful applicants will produce works of art and social experiments that engage critically with themes such as privacy, digital sovereignty, censorship, surveillance, decentralized autonomous organizations (also known as DAOs). The increasingly complex relationships between humans and machines, and between users and the structures of power are also in scope. Supported projects could include any form of art, as well as academic research and participatory projects. Some will exist purely on-chain (that is, cryptographically secured by a blockchain), some will live entirely off-chain, while others will retain aspects of both.

// FOCUS AREAS

Visual Arts

Projects engaging aesthetics, technology and cypherpunk narratives through formal visual experimentation. Generative art pieces, software, network and data art, paintings, sculptures or other on-chain, off-chain or hybrid artworks.

SHARE YOUR VISION

In the initial phase of the KSM Art & Social Experiments Initiative, we’re primarily looking to support projects seeking funding of up to 10,000 USD. Projects with a larger scope and bigger budgetary requirements may also be considered. If you’re inspired to create a project that resonates with our values, then we’re waiting to hear from you!

Before submitting, please consult the Basis & Terms page for the complete requirements and conditions.

APPLY NOW
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// THREE PATHS, ONE BROADER VISION

KSM Art & Social Experiments Initiative is one of three concurrent programs funded by the Web3 Foundation. The other two are the ZK Bounty, focused on zero-knowledge technology enforced by cryptography, and the Proof-of-Personhood Bounty, which envisions a future where every human can prove their individuality, without revealing their identity. The three initiatives are thematically linked — some projects may be suitable for funding from more than one program.

Find out more about the broader Kusama Vision.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The KSM Art & Social Experiments Initiative is funded by the Web3 Foundation, which built the Kusama Network in 2019. Applicants submitting on-chain items such as NFTs will be encouraged to deploy them to the Kusama chain. This initiative is in no way affiliated or related with the artist Yayoi Kusama or the Yayoi Kusama Foundation.