The HENI Discord was created on 14 July 2021 to coincide with the launch of The Currency by Damien Hirst. From the outset, this platform was intended to be a place for art and NFT collectors to come together, fostering a shared understanding and experience of art.
Over the past year, thanks to the community, the projects and activities within our server have grown to become much greater than the sum of their parts, inspiring and building upon the work of the artists involved.
To celebrate the server's first anniversary, we’ve selected some of the top moments from the past year to remember together.
##**1. The Currency **
It's been a year since we started this journey together, with an exclusive drop that quickly became a landmark project, setting the bar for success in the fine art NFT space. The Currency investigates our perception of what is valuable, what art can be in the digital world, and what defines our sense of ownership. This exploration of value is centred on a deceptively simple question, posed to collectors: “Will you burn your NFT to get a painting, or burn the physical art to keep your NFT?”
##2. *The Currency Chronicles*
The Chronicles (working title) is a collection of all the magical moments brought about by The Currency and our vibrant community. The HENI community have submitted hundreds of stories, photos and poems based on their experiences. Many have had positive experiences made possible by this project, while some have even said that it saved their lives.
##**3. Market Reports & Analysis **
In the spirit of continued data transparency, we have been releasing 30-40 page in-depth market reports monthly, with sales insights, analysis, and other data from The Currency. HENI is one of the first NFT studios to publish this kind of information on a project.
HENI Analytics subsequently launched The Currency Dashboard (Beta), where a live dashboard shows statistics on the NFT collection’s market. They also published a Secondary Market Report on The Virtues as part of a broader effort to provide interesting and in-depth market data to collectors.
##**4. Frieze Competition **
A five-day competition was held to mark the exhibition of The Currency at Frieze London 2021. To showcase the importance of the project’s community, we asked Discord members to create sharable images (memes) based on daily prompts. Winners were chosen through a voting system based on Discord reactions, where competition entries with the highest number of reactions won.
##** 5. Paying with The Currency **
At the inaugural exhibition of the Claridge's ArtSpace, Damien Hirst’s Sunshine: Complex Relationships Explained Simply, we decided to test The Currency’s utility as an actual currency, letting holders use their NFTs to buy other Damien Hirst artworks. @MrCheese - a notable community member - was the first to take advantage of this option, which allowed him to purchase an original artwork using The Currency tenders.
##**6. The Oracle **
We’re proud to say that The Currency was the first project to use Chainlink oracles for pricing NFTs across the collection. HENI is using Chainlink’s oracles on Ethereum mainnet to provide up-to-date pricing values to decentralised finance (DeFi). The oracle was first used by Arcade.xyz to facilitate lending and borrowing with The Currency NFTs as collateral.
##7. Community Creativity & Engagement
Over the past year, community members have been inspired by our artists and one another to create their own art. Some have worked with moderators to produce animations, memes, and video content, including a happy birthday video for Damien Hirst. One member’s drawing of a whale on The Currency sales graph even inspired Hirst to create his own version, featuring a shark.
##**8. Airdrop, Merch, and Studio Visit **
The first year of The Currency project has had its fair share of unexpected twists for collectors, including, among others, the launch of Great Expectations (Damien Hirst’s second NFT collection, distributed through a surprise airdrop on 25 November) and December 2021’s merch drop. Along with the recent studio visit, these surprises have served to create more interest around the project and introduced a new factor to consider in the choice between NFT and physical artwork.
##**9. Server Roles **
Roles form an integral part of most Discord communities, helping add greater structure and excitement to interactions. Today, our server features the following roles: OG100, Helpful Members, Social Spots, Chroniclers, Server Boosters and Verified Holders. These roles provide a way for HENI to highlight and thank community members for their support.
##10. Artist AMAs
Our first AMA, which took place on 20 July 2021, marked a turning point in The Currency project. For many community members, Damien Hirst was someone they had only ever seen on television. The AMA changed that relationship, as the artist answered their questions directly, in some cases even with a video. The humour that Hirst showed helped uplift the community. His responses also clarified a great deal, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to and interest in The Currency.
##11. Eight Drops
Our Discord server has played an important role in supporting eight physical and NFT drops by HENI. Books, prints, and original artworks have been featured and discussed on the server, bringing more art to the community.
##Community Highlights:
@JustaRock tattoo Kyle (@JustaRock) took part in the fundraiser for Orchid Men’s Cancer, getting a tattoo of the Currency Shark drawing (modified slightly) when the 1 ETH donation goal had been met.
Charity A fundraiser for Orchid Men’s Cancer charity, led by @scrotaldinho (a ‘Helpful Member’ on Discord), raised a total of £10,693.
@LDW’s travel Louis (@LDW) sold his The Currency tender to travel across Europe, visiting several countries and keeping the community posted along the way.
Members to Mod Several Discord members have since become moderators: Ethan (@Pondscum), Astrid Zoe (@aiz0l), Stephen and Dana (@Dana), working with HENI to support the community.
##HENI Discord: A year in infographics
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