An Interview with Ordonez, Founder of Galeria NFT
Tomorrow at 19 UTC, a new artist collective will launch their inaugural pack drop on WAX. On top of the NFTs you’ll receive, you’ll also be helping a group of South American artists to survive, as Ordonez explains here.
A few months ago in the pilot episode of WAX Lyrical, mBlu explained how people in disadvantageous situations, so long as they had internet access, could utilise NFTs on WAX to help them obtain what’s needed to live from one day to the next.
Covid has hit many of us hard, but for those in creative industries, especially those that revolve around nightlife and events, the last 18 months has brought their careers, and their income, to a virtual standstill.
One project is offering a line of support to such artists in these difficult times, using the power of NFTs to provide a real lifeline – Galeria NFT – and in this interview, project founder Ordonez goes into their mission statement, their long-term plans, and their first major pack drop tomorrow.
Stick around to the end of the interview for our Galeria Interview Card, dropping soon!
Pssst… once again, there’s three hidden claim links to previous Interview Cards within this article. Happy searching!
Hydro: Hi! Could you tell me a bit about yourself, your background and how you got into NFTs?
Ordonez: I’m David Ordonez, and I’ve been a DJ & Producer for almost 20 years. I’ve toured in the US, Europe, Mexico and others, and was in the midst of a tour before Covid turned my world upside down. Without gigs or events to promote, I had to figure out a way to provide for my family. My DJ mate Freiboitar from Germany introduced me to crypto, and a little later I found out about NFTs and fell in love with the concept!
Tell us about Galeria NFT. What’s the idea behind it, and what can the community expect to see?
I realised that, like me, a bunch of artists were struggling in these difficult times – especially in countries such as mine (Ecuador) where no financial aid was offered – and with a ban on events, we really didn’t have any income.
I’d worked with a few big artists in the past, so I figured NFTs were a great way for us to make a bit of sorely-needed extra money.
People can expect nothing but high-quality art from the Galeria. We’re a collective of talented artists with a bunch of different styles that are guaranteed to make you fall in love with our NFTs.
How did you come across the WAX blockchain? Why have you decided to launch Galeria on WAX?
I actually started out on the ETH, and was trying to sell on OpenSea for a couple of months without any luck. I was posting in Facebook groups and a girl called Christine (a.k.a. Hivemind), who was constantly sharing my stuff, got in touch and suggested that I move to WAX. I was really sceptical at first, but when I minted and sold an NFT on my first day, I knew it was a go for me.
Your first big pack drop takes place tomorrow, with Iv?n Casanova. What will we see inside these packs, and how much will they be?
Iv?n is a massive artist in my country, so expect to see some fantastic stuff!
There’s 23 unique designs, all hand-drawn, with 4 rarities of each. Casanova Custom is the highest rarity, with only a 2% chance of obtaining these babies! The packs will also include some blend materials, and the packs are a piece of art in and of themselves.
We have 3 tiers of pack; the Meme Pack ($2.99) has 4 NFTs, the Gold Pack ($4.99) has 7 NFTs, and the Dope Pack ($9.99) will have 10 NFTs, plus a boost to the chances of receiving a higher rarity.
The drop link for these packs can be found here.
What has your experience on WAX been like so far? What hopes do you have for the blockchain?
It’s been amazing!
The community is awesome – every single week I find more great people from great communities that are always willing to help. You can easily meet, interact and collaborate with people that run great projects, and that’s wonderful.
Are there any other NFT artists/collections that you admire, WAX or otherwise?
There’s probably hundreds of them!
My closest WAX friends have some really cool projects, like pixlpopheros and RAWR!. HodlGod is doing some amazing work, Dark Pinup is great, Cartoombs… there’s way too many to list!
We’re working with a new artist from Per? on his Cute As Fuck collection, dropping next month, which will be a new card game. There’s a lot of great stuff on the way that I’m super excited for!
A big part of Galeria is helping the artists involved. In real terms, what do you hope Galeria will allow these artists to do?
Well, in countries like mine, artists rarely make money from their art. They do it because they love it, and as a way to showcase their talent so they can be hired into an advert design job, or a similar role.
My short-term goal is to help them generate some extra income to survive day-to-day, but the longer-term goal is to allow them to make a living through their art.
The art I’ve seen for Galeria so far has been fantastic! Have you had any thoughts about branching out from NFTs into other forms of media (e.g. prints, merch etc.)?
Actually, some of our followers have already asked for printed versions of our art, but living in Ecuador, it’s proving difficult to arrange.
We’d love to branch out into other media though – Iv?n will be dropping a special NFT sticker collection soon, and it would be amazing for our followers to be able to grab some physical ones!
There’s also t-shirts and other physical items that we’d like to do, but we’ll just have to wait and see what the NFT world brings us.
Will your NFTs have any additional benefits for the holders? Are you speaking with any dApps in this respect?
We’re exploring our options for utility at the moment. As relative newcomers to WAX, we still need to meet the right people, and prove our worth to the community.
What have you enjoyed most about working on Galeria so far?
Getting to know a bunch of amazing people and artists, and helping them to make extra income in these hard times, is a very rewarding experience.
I’ve been blown away by the realisation that there’s people out there that love our art, and that are actually willing to pay for it.
As a DJ, I’ve been watching my music being downloaded illegally for many years, so NFTs are a real game changer for me. I’m sure many artists feel the same way.
What’s your favourite NFT from the Ivan Casanova collection that’s about to drop?
All of the highest-rarity Casanova NFTs are just amazing. All of the artwork by Iv?n is hand-drawn, and no doubt these rare variants, with special frames, will be the most sought-after NFTs of the collection.
Is there anything you’d like to add? What would you like to say to the reader?
You can expect great things from us, not only from Iv?n, but from all of the other artists that will be a part of the Galeria.
Thank you to everyone who supports us and our artists, especially in these difficult times for us all.
Let?s wrap it up with some quick-fire questions!
What fuels you?
My family, and doing what I love.
One unusual fact about you?
I have a degree in Computer Science and Digital Marketing, but I’ve never used them directly.
Long-term; crypto or fiat as the predominant currency?
Crypto – it’s the future!
You can invite one person, dead or alive, to dinner. Who do you choose and why?
I don’t know if I’d go to dinner with him, but I’d love to go to a concert with Jim Morrison.
What is your purpose in life?
To be happy.
How can we follow Galeria?
You can check out our website, Telegram and Twitter, plus visit our NeftyBlocks page here.
We’ve spoken to artists from all walks of life and hailing from many different countries through these interviews, but this is the first example where the combination of artistic talent and WAX NFTs have the potential to keep food on the table and roofs over the heads for these artists in their time of need.
Ordonez makes no bones of the fact that the ability to make a living through NFTs is a major reason for being on the blockchain, but his refreshing honesty, his kind-hearted nature, and his willingness to share this opportunity with other artists in need make this a project well-worth your attention.
Galeria’s inaugural pack drop, featuring Iv?n Casanova’s art, drops tomorrow at 19 UTC. There are three different packs available, ranging from $2.99 to $9.99. You can view the drop here.
Once again, we have our Galeria Interview Card, dropping in the near future!
The Determined DJ
Collection: nftinsiderio
Max mint: 150 (1 reserved, 99 public, 30 OGs, 20 Promo Holders)
Drop price: 25 WAX
Dropping: 24/07 22 UTC (public), 22:05 UTC (OGs), 22:10 UTC (Promo Holders)
Drop link: Check our Twitter or Discord!
Let’s connect…
COO & founder of NFT Insider. Bullish on web3. Competitive soul.