A Unique Use Case for Blockchain: Preserving Our Stories
THE PROJECT:
In early 2020, Artory announced their collaboration with DYKWTCA, a call to action and exhibition of 100+ unique works of art by 100+ leading visual artists organized by the artists and activists Mary Ellen Carroll and Lucas Michael. Each artwork incorporates, or represents an actual account (in whole or in part) from a child who was separated from their family and detained by the U.S. government at the Mexico–United States border.
The accounts are taken from the interviews that were conducted by the Flores investigators, a team of legal, medical, and mental health experts who visited the detention facilities six months ago in June of 2019. Flores investigators are tasked with investigating the state of immigration rights upheld in the United States. Upon witnessing the deplorable, inhumane, and illegal conditions they found the children in, the Flores investigators decided it was necessary to act upon their findings and went public with the injustices.
The artists, acting in solidarity with the whistleblowers and the children for DYKWTCA include: Julie Mehretu, Jesse Presley Jones, Kay Rosen, Amy Sillman, Walead Beshty, Paul Pfeiffer, Dan Graham, Molly Gochman, Boris Torres, POPE.L, and Xaviera Simmons—to name a few.
The sale of the project’s works of art and their accompanying Flores accounts selected by the artists began online on July 27th, raising funds that go directly to Innovation Law Lab, Terra Firma, Team Brownsville, and Safe Passage Project, providing urgent legal, medical, and mental health aid to the children and the families.
“There are very young children who are here all by themselves for many days. In the cell for boys, there is a four year-old and his brother who is maybe seven or eight years old. They have been here for about 13 days. They do not have anyone to care for them. In the cell for girls, there are girls as young as three and four years-old who do not have anyone to care for them.”
A UNIQUE USE CASE:
DYKWTCA wanted to guarantee the preservation and protection of these stories. Searching for a tangible way to make sure these stories are never forgotten, DYKWTCA turned to Artory’s blockchain registry. Through Artory’s blockchain-secured public Registry and the leading appraisal firm Winston Art Group, each artwork and its associated information was vetted and recorded on the blockchain.
Blockchain technology is most commonly associated with cold data transactions: a distributed ledger to record the provenance and information associated with an asset. Through the project, DYKWTCA began to re-think the applications of Artory’s ability to make information immutable. DYKWTCA also asks what information makes an artwork truly valuable. For this project, the most vital data to be registered and protected were the Flores accounts, ultimately using the blockchain to secure a real story. Artory and Winston Art Group were able to record not just the artworks’ factual data but also the tragic source material that inspired them in a new kind of digital cultural record that ensures the project’s enduring presence online.
Proposal for a Public Artwork, 2019 by Shezad Dawood, for example, was registered on Artory through Winston Art Group for DYKWTCA with the following excerpt from the Flores Accounts attached:
At Ursula, we are kept in a cage. It is very crowded, with about 50 boys and young men ranging in age from about 5 to 20 years old. There is no room to move without stepping over the others. We were not given a mat to sleep on, so we had to sleep on the cold, concrete floor. The lights are on all the time. We were both very cold last night. I did not get any sleep, I stayed up worried about my nephew and making sure he was safe.Flores Account: Page 8, 9 — 17 year old boy and 8 year old nephew, GUATEMALA, June 11, 2019
FOR THE CHILDREN:
At the end of the sale in August, DYKWTCA raised over $60K for Innovation Law Lab, Terra Firma, Team Brownsville, and Safe Passage Project, and ensured that all funds went directly to aiding those who face immigration injustice in the United States.
Through Artory and Winston Art Group, each owner was issued a blockchain-secured certificate which will track the provenance of the artwork and guarantee that proceeds from resale are split appropriately between seller, artist, and immigration rights organizations. Moreover, by engaging with the blockchain, the initial purchaser ensures that the children’s stories are kept public and undisturbed. The purchaser is then also integral in telling the artwork’s story and in carrying out DYKWTCA’s intention: the children’s experiences will not be erased, and these injustices will not be forgotten.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee ordered U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release migrant children who have been detained longer than 20 days by July 17, 2020 following claims from advocates that the government is holding the children unnecessarily.
The recent hearing and ruling on Flores regulations has yet to be announced.
You can read the Flores Amicus Brief that was filed on January 28, 2020 for the Flores regulations to remain in place. These are the legal protections for the most vulnerable—the children who are seeking asylum in the U.S. The following link is to the Amicus Brief, READ ON: 2020 01 28 Flores Amicus Draft 4842-1836-6386 v.12
View the 100+ registered DYKWTCA records on Artory.
