“As a collector, you’re participating in someone’s journey; their expression. The role is to appreciate, respect, and support. Who & what you collect has a meaningful impact, so I think there is a responsibility to appreciate that. For me, that means trying to support that and whom I would like to see more of in the world.”

Jackie Courtney is an entrepreneur, investor, advisor & writer. She is currently building QUALIA ‘web3 LVMH’ incubating & investing in the next generation of art, fashion & design brands (launching September 7, 2022). She is a founding BFF (women’s org for web3 education) and founding member of Chief in NY, as well as, a member of multiple NFT DAOs and communities. She recently spoke at NFT NYC about DAO regulations & opportunities, Muse Web3 Summit about web3 branding, and with BFF about building in web3.

As a jack-of-all trades and community leader, Courtney’s collection reflects her multidimensional eye of a collector who lends credence to emerging and established artists in equal measure. Her gallery, which you can visit below, includes works by Lily Callisto, Mikey Woodbridge, Yael Malka, Travis LeRoy Southworth, David Sacks, and Jacqui Kenny (also known as the Agoraphobic Traveller).

Art3: What was your first introduction to NFTs and how long after did you begin collecting?

JC: I heard about NFTs here and there as an investor/consultant, but mostly from headlines. My husband had been collecting a bit, and kept telling me we should purchase a crypto punk, so one night I started surfing around OpenSea to see what it was all about. It took me a while to open my own wallet, and longer still to begin collecting. I didn’t realise in the beginning the scope of what an NFT was and what it could be. Since then,  I’ve spent a lot of time on Discord and Twitter trying to learn & connect before I started.

Art3: If you could only keep one of the NFTs you have collected, which would it be?

JC: This is incredibly hard. Everyone must say that, I suppose. I have to pick two 🙂

valentine/:wait (6am) by Dun, I find her work to be personal, moving, and surprising. And just beautiful. Unique. I suppose I see something of myself in this bird and it feels as though they are part of my journey.

And Opera Omnia by Claire Silver. This piece is a compilation of her Genesis Collection for Braindrops that she awarded to me for solving a riddle. QUALIA is a thread throughout the collection, and this piece transference was a pivotal moment for me. It, her work, the concept of Qualia, and obviously the name itself, are foundational to what I am working on in the space now. Her generosity of spirit, and supportive collaboration to call Qualia ‘Qualia’ and be a part of its leadership Council, informed much of how I see the web3 space and its beauty of it.

Art3: What kind of work catches your eye the most — are there specific genres or aesthetics? 

JC: Concept is very important for me–the story, the artist, the narrative. I don’t think I have a preferred medium, though I suppose I am still learning. Visually, I tend to gravitate towards abstraction or unexpected juxtapositions of some kind.

Art3: There’s a lot of talk in the community about how long to hold artwork and when to engage with the secondary market. Do you employ a strategy with your collection?

JC: Hmm. Not really. I think in large part I invest in NFTs as I have invested in startups, or invested my time: I want to support creatives pushing boundaries and building something meaningful. That takes time, so I try to collect with intent & with the ability to just hold. But there’s never enough ETH, as they say. This is true for every budget. For larger collections of work, I try to collect 2 – 3 pieces, so if the collection were to appreciate quite quickly, I could part with one earlier than intended.

Art3: Who are some of the artists that you think deserve attention right now? 

JC: Dun. Claire Silver. Sarah Meyohas. Pindar Van Arman. Mia Forrest. Stellabelle. Mikey Woodbridge. Empress Trash. Erica Reiling. Olive Allen.

Art3: Which was the collection, NFT or artist who got away?

JC: Homegrown by Julie Blackmon

Art3: What do you believe your primary role as a collector is?

JC: As a collector, you’re participating in someone’s journey; their expression. The role is to appreciate, respect, and support. Who & what you collect has a meaningful impact, so I think there is a responsibility to appreciate that. For me, that means trying to support that and whom I would like to see more of in the world. 

Art3: What has been your biggest triumph and your most challenging lesson since you began collecting?

JC: Lesson? Hardware wallet. Multiple wallets. Turn off discord DMs. 

Triumph? Probably a lot of tiny ones. I mean, opening a wallet and minting my first NFT felt like a triumph at the time! Lessons learned, new things discovered, people I’ve met. I did learn how to use some AI tools to help create a collabGAN with Pindar Van Arman. I was able to show my 6-year-old son, and he helped create one too. Everything about it was incredibly special. 

Art3: Naturally, there’s a lot of speculation in the NFT space. Do you have projections as to what the next year will bring?

JC: I tend to have a very rosy outlook. All NFTs are not created the same. It’s a mechanism, a tool really, not the end product, right? So will the world value creative expression & the creatives that are building it? Absolutely. Will it value innovative communities & networks driving change? 100%. The onramps need to get easier, and they will. I have never met someone that got into the NFT space and then thought, nah. There is so, so much here. 

Do I think the frantic speculation ‘only up’ phase has passed? Probably. I think that will help clear the way for more thoughtful creating & collecting really.

Find Jackie’s Collection Gallery here. 

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