Special Edition: Women Rule Web3 — NFT Artist Monica Rizzolli

to defy to NFTs. On this show, we'll break it down for you through interviews with incredible leaders, experts, and artists. Today we're speaking with Monica Rizzoli. In twenty and twenty one, she released two series of NFTs Tropical Garden and The Generative Fragments of an Infinite Field through art blocks. She's exhibited in the US, Brazil, Germany, China and Spain. Monica one of the six amazing artists that we're featuring in the Seneca Women A Quality Collection, a special NFT collection

with nifty Gateway. I spoke to Monica about her work. Here's what she had to say. Monica, it's so great to have you on the show. Thanks so much for joining us. Hi, thank you, Keene. I'm so glad to be here, but we are so excited to be partnering with you on the Seneca Women. A quality collection, and I just want to say right out of the gate, we absolutely love your work, so thank you for what you've already put into the world. Tell us a little

bit about your personal and professional background. So I came from a family of type pographers. So I started to draw, holl and play with types of very early in my life, and I decided to go to the University of Visual Arts in zam Paolo, and after that it started to study at KASSU consostually with Professor I'm as a spare and I believed that was the time when I started to work professionally with visual awards. So that's extremely interesting

that you come from a background of topographers. When did you get into painting. I think I was farteen or fifteen years old. It was really early because the graph shop shop of my grand parents, everybody worked there and there was a few of my uncles that made the drawings in the paintings to the newspaper or books that they were publishing or things like that. So to painting was something really natural to me because of this environment

in my shidhood. But actually it was a little bit funny because all my because I was a female, I wasn't all no one's thought that I could have this profession in my family when I was young, but I was wise there. Oh you really surprised them. Yes, well, that's I think somewhat common unfortunately in a lot of our lives that people underestimate what girls can do. So when did you start realizing yourself that you had this calling with painting, and then when did you decide to

move into the digital world. Oh well, when I was in Germany, I was so excited about this different environment because at first I thought, oh, I'm going to move and nothing is going to be really different. But everything was different the house, they opened the doors, the windows, and I was like, my god, I never thought that, So, you know, those little things could be so different to me.

And I wanted to draw something that could make this relationship between between me and the environment and how we reacted when we have a different perception of the environment and about things that we thought we knew it. Then I started to research animation and it's covered processing. And when I saw processing, I thought, oh, that's perfect because I can have an environment that acts or something that

represents a person that reacts in different environments. And this idea to have interaction and hundomness and you know, complex behavior inside the drawing just blew my mind. So that was the start. Guess that it's amazing, And I tell you, it just reminded me when I the first time I went to Europe. I also had that feeling that everything is different, even though you wouldn't necessarily think it was,

but it was in the details. And I remember, this is maybe a little funny, but I remember being in this bathroom in Paris and I was young. I was, you know, maybe in my late teens or you know, around that or early twenties. I went into this bathroom in Paris and I literally could not figure out how to flush the toilet because where they put the where they put the toy, it was like on the wall. It was like a piece of art. And I was like so camouflaged into the whole environment of the bathroom,

and I was like, this is unbelievable. So I totally understand the point of the details and how it can totally transform or like you said, even the water or how things taste, or the way things feel. I just when you're in a different culture, it just feels different. We'll be back after this break. So that's really interesting about getting into digital and randomized and as you said, kind of the detail of what's possible and your work

really reflects that. Your work has such just so much complexity in it, and it's really it draws you in and it keeps you there. How has this whole NFT movement changed the way you think about your work and how has it impacted your life? Well, well, where to start? It's not to be to answer those questions because it's well, I think the first thing is when you are working with genetitive art, there was no there was no a good way to show it or to you know, make

it available. And I think the NFT in the obviously art blogs platform and they solved a problem that was how to show this type of work, and in does matter. I think any f T changed everything because when you have the right way to show this, you can make people see how important this can be, you know. So

I think that was the first thing. But of course after this, even that, I made a few projects abroad in Los Angeles in Germany staining, but I wasn't a knowing arts and the ant in the ny f T space. That doesn't matter. If people like your work, if they think that what you're doing is great, it's great. And uh, it's amazing to think that nobody knows how I am who I am? How do I look like? They don't care if I am you know, a mayor or not. Of course, of course I think that we should have

much more girls in this space. But in the final of the day, you know, the NFT changed all the game. Yet you know, we still see that there are not as many women, or at least as many women being recognized in the NFT space. How did you transition? Because I know a lot of women want to go into web three or even want to go into NFTs, but they feel there's a barrier because there is this narrative out there that you know, at tech is a guy's thing, and I think a lot of women feel it's hard

to jump in. How did you transition? And what can we say to these women? Well, at first, I'm not afraid, uh, and I don't care. When I started to programming, I was alone. I learned by myself, and I studied for like four years by myself. Then I went back to Brazil and I made a few friends and we started to meet each other in some Paulo and will you

build a community in Brazil around the creative programming? It's well, there is a few women, it's just like me and two or three more, and you know, sometimes can be intimidating, but we need to do what we need to do. And sometimes it's hard, yes it is. Sometimes there are there are less opportunities, of course, but you need to stink by yourself. You need to go and do what you know you you can do, and that's all we have,

you know, So that's what I do. I think, I think having that community around you to give you some energy when you have a little bit of low energy, at least for myself. But to your point, we have to kind of stay committed to our goals. But I think having a community of women and men who are supportive is really important and who are discovering together, because I think this world as that we live in is so full of change and everything is new all the time, and so to your point, to be afraid of new

probably isn't an option right now. Yeah, And I think just thinking now, we need to communicate. We want to communicate. We want to find people that share similarities, and sometimes that doesn't share some a looted with us. But the communication is very important. If you have no one to talk about it or should developed together or to share things, well where is the point of doing something? So it's really really important. Should beauty community, and I think the

community is the best thing we can have in our lives. Well, that's why we are. We're super excited that you're part of our community and that we're doing this collection together. I mean, the point of the collection was to show these incredible women artists, to get women supporting the work, to get women involved in kind of web three and getting comfortable, and also you know, hopefully to envision equality through the work. So how did you think about this piece?

The goal of the goal of the project was, well, the brief was to ask, you know, how do you envision equality? How did you think about the piece um that you've done for the collection? So at first I thought that I should portrayed a female or something related to that. So in the end I decided that I wasn't going to do that because the equality stands in my work itself. I am being unarts of female arts from Brazil. That's a read enough to talk about equality.

I mean, I don't need to painting a woman talk about it. So I decided to focus into the best I could inside my line of work. And I hope that people that people can see that women and men, we are both capable of doing amazing things when we want. So I'm really glad to be in this project and to be with those amazing girls, amazing arts, and to share its possibility to talk about in fit and women

we should talk about it. I always see those lists like the top ten these are that, and it's always men men, men and women and two humans, and I think, well, it's not because the work is better or not what's going on here? So that's why I'm super hectic here. I think you're so right. I mean, it's it's interesting because there's always this feeling that there are no women in NFTs, and we know that that's not true, and yet we do know that there's a barrier. There is

a barrier to women being in this space. But I think it seems like the way perhaps art is promoted,

or the way collectors perhaps spend their money. I think to your point, there's something going on here and we need to get to the root of it, and I think I hope that this collection will be the first where we can bring the Seneca women community to bear on the art and to show the world and bring new people to collecting, but then also kind of have this, you know, this this curated collection to show six really amazing women from around the world, which is also really exciting.

I think you mentioned earlier that you know, if you were in Spain or Brazil or Germany, things were very local, and I think in the past, in most professions you kind of had to know somebody or you know, somehow get to the right network. But with the blockchain, you know, it's there is this possibility of the barriers coming down

and things becoming global instantly. So if we can kind of come together with our communities and promote women's art, I think I think it'll be a big important contribution because to your point, being a woman artist and how you see the world and letting the world see how you see the world, that is a quality and that's what we're hoping for. I only can thank you a lot for disopportunity. Well, I thank you, I really I'm super inspired by your work. We love what you do.

Of course, you are one of the top NFT artists in the world, and it's obvious why anybody who sees your work will understand that. So thank you for what you're doing. And I hope that together we're going to bring a whole new bunch of women into the NFT space, and I hope we can work together for years to come. I hope so too. It was so wonderful to talk

to Monica, and her work is truly inspiring. Go to Seneca Women dot com to see her work and the other artists in the Seneca Women a Quality collection, and join us tomorrow for another Women Rule Web three conversation. Have a great day. You're listening to Seneca Women Conversations on power and Purpose, brought to you by the Seneca Women podcast Network and iHeartRadio with support from founding partner for P and G. If you'd like to join the

Seneca Women Network, go to Seneca Women dot com. There you'll get access to exclusive events and workshops, plus updates on new podcasts and other opportunities to get involved. Fie