From Gallery to Data Trust: Redefining and Amplifying TRANSFER’s Brand, Mission, and Impact
Arts Equity Group supported TRANSFER’s evolution from traditional art gallery to data trust. With storytelling and strategic communications support, TRANSFER saw an increase in public awareness and secured grant opportunities that serve as the bedrock for their new chapter.
Photos by Michelle Kammerman for BFA.
Project Overview
Client
Client Background
TRANSFER is an experimental gallery that explores simulation and expanded practice. Founded by Kelani Nichole in 2013, TRANSFER’s mission is to support artists examining the social, cultural and political implications of emerging technology in their work.
TRANSFER Data Trust is an artist-owned peer-to-peer archive, with a focus on data sovereignty, digital equity, and long-term care of media art. The trust shifts power to artists by decentralizing the conservation, preservation, valuation, and exchange of time-based media art.
Objectives
TRANSFER was seeking to raise awareness and educate the press about their shift from art gallery to data trust, including key concepts while also putting their project on the press radar to secure potential grants. To do this, they needed a communications plan for strategic outreach and support with storytelling and public programs.
Challenges
TRANSFER faced several obstacles in publicizing and messaging complex information to the art world, the tech and decentralized web community, and the general public. This required multiple strategies for engagement and translation across audiences that had varying degrees of understanding. On the one hand, TRANSFER needed to educate the art world on the tech opportunities and infrastructure needed to bring about the shift from gallery to data trust; on the other hand, they needed to bring the tech community into conversation regarding the possibilities of implementing the data trust model within the arts ecosystem.
Our Offerings
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AEG crafted key messages, identified target audiences, and developed boilerplates and media kits to facilitate effective press release creation and distribution. This messaging, along with institutional storytelling, was disseminated to AEG’s curated list of art trades and niche publications. AEG also led the charge on monthly press releases and pitching initiatives, while supporting the overall email newsletter strategy.
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To further maximize TRANSFER’s goals, AEG developed an integrated communications and programming strategy that focuses on impactful language and storytelling, helping position TRANSFER as a leader in digital art conservation. To ensure maximum impact, AEG held weekly meetings with TRANSFER to discuss strategy and transition.
Over a year and a half, AEG played a pivotal role in transforming TRANSFER from a traditional gallery to a decentralized data trust. AEG helped define a new organizational structure, clarifying roles and responsibilities while developing language that resonated with both artists and technologists. This process involved extensive education and storytelling, bridging the gap between the art world and the tech community. AEG facilitated two-way communication, helping technologists understand artists' perspectives while teaching artists how to leverage technology effectively. These efforts included both internal and external storytelling, encompassing media, press, and communication strategies.
Contributors
Danielle Amodeo, Val Finke, Christine Park
Impact and Outcomes
Arts Equity Group was instrumental in guiding TRANSFER’s transition from gallery to data trust through comprehensive storytelling and strategic outreach. AEG’s vital support included securing key grants, such as the Knight Art + Tech Expansion Fund, and partnerships with the Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web and the Filecoin Foundation, which provided critical funding for TRANSFER’s evolution. To enhance visibility, AEG curated a targeted media list of over 100 arts, culture, technology, and digital innovation outlets, securing coverage from publications like The Art Newspaper, Miami New Times, Artnews, Traction, and more. AEG successfully supported high-profile events, including TRANSFER’s activations at Photofairs (September 2023), Art Basel Miami (December 2023), the Sea Change exhibition at Pérez Art Museum Miami (February 2024), and Future Fair (May 2024). Across these engagements, AEG led communications efforts, managed press relations, and hosted exclusive viewings for donors, collectors, and the media. Additionally, AEG provided strategic crisis communication support, bearing a resilient and impactful presence at every stage.
Noteworthy Press:
Conclusion
Arts Equity Group successfully assisted TRANSFER in achieving goals of raising awareness, educating the public, and securing media coverage for groundbreaking initiatives in digital art preservation and data trust. The outcomes solidified TRANSFER’s brand in their transition from gallery to data trust and deepened the relationship between the client and artists, curators, and collectors of the arts and culture ecosystem.
Partners