EventsCommon Ground
Smart Contracts Aren't, and other legal issues in blockchain and art
Featuring Erika R. Knierim, Sarah C. Odenkirk, and Charlotte Kent
Thursday, January 13, 2022 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific
These free events are produced by The Brooklyn Rail.
In this Talk
If smart contracts aren't contracts, what are they? Why can't you insure an NFT? What are you selling and what do you own? Is copyright applicable? Beyond the financial hype swirling around NFTs and the crypto-markets, there are practical considerations that artists and collectors need to take into account as a part of their participation. Partner and co-head of Art, Law and Emerging Technology at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard, LLC Sarah Odenkirk and Founder and Principal of Nomic Consulting Erika Knierim share their insights into the often confusing blockchain landscape with Rail Editor-at-Large Charlotte Kent, PhD.
Erika R. Knierim

Sarah C. Odenkirk

Charlotte Kent

Associate professor of visual culture at Montclair State University Charlotte Kent, PhD, is an Editor-at-Large for the Brooklyn Rail, and a contributor to assorted books on art and technology, including as co-editor of Contemporary Absurdities, Existential Crises, and Visual Art (Intellect Books, 2024), co-author of Midnight Moment: A Decade of Artists in Times Square (Monacelli Press, 2024), and editor of Generation to Generation (Vetro, 2026). She is the recipient of grants from NEH and Google Art + Machine Intelligence, with a forthcoming book on contemporary art and technoabsurdity. She is a member of the College Art Association’s Committee on Intellectual Property.
The Rail has a tradition of ending our conversations with a poetry reading, and we're fortunate to have Dao Strom reading.
Dao Strom

We’d like to thank The Marion Boulton Kippy Stroud Foundation and Teiger Foundation for making these conversations possible, and for their support of our growing archive 🌈✨