An Open Letter to the NFT Space:
With a desire to make the world a better place than I entered it, I found a calling early on for filmmaking. There’s no faster way to change the views of millions of people than a widespread, authentic and empathetic message. Rooted in the hope to make the world a better place, I have gone on to make films that have truly changed people’s lives. But of course, getting the message out is only half of the equation. The other part relies on the actionable doing, using resources to go out into the chaos and create solutions and lasting healing that can build an infrastructure for a better tomorrow. With that said, I truly believe art is the key. Any and all kinds of art that speaks to people’s souls and changes them forever. This is why the NFT space was one that piqued my interest.
With conscious and intentional use, NFTs afford opportunities to aid causes, support missions, and empower artists to regain their ownership… making it a landscape I couldn’t overlook. But, as an outsider to a very tight knit community, especially as a woman in a male-dominated space, I was a bit intimidated. After joining a few Discord groups and speaking with the people, the community was welcoming, and supportive of our idea to create a collective for good… hence, Echo Labs.
A few years ago, I crossed paths with my kindred spirit and powerhouse Mädchen Amick, and the rest is about to be history. Mädchen started her career at 17 years old, bombarding Hollywood with her talent, so I borrowed a little of her courage and asked her to be part of my lab’s first collection MiND. Echo Labs has committed to giving 50% of all our proceeds to a charity of choice linked to each project. In this case it’s mental health. Our passion for mental health (as we believe this is the core of almost all problems) united us in a way that is unshakable. As we educate ourselves more on the possibilities of Web3, we look forward to the future and how we will be able to bridge the gap between traditional and digital art, molding the world to be a reflection of the messages we, as a collective, want to share.
We have started discussing the ever growing possibilities of what we can create and do to support artists via the NFT space.
Dao funded films
Collective owned albums / music
Fractionalization of traditional art
Community building, online and off.
A Winter Art Show Gala
Exclusive Echo Events for NFT holders
Thank you for letting me share a little piece of my heart and my “why” on the way to making this new path one that we can be proactive in our efforts to do good.
With love, Elissa Shay
Echo Labs Founder