Web 2.0 was full of promise, representing a new era of interactivity and increased user-generated content. Its shortcomings have become more obvious in the last decade, with allegations of advert saturation, data commodification and lack of user privacy dominating online-focused discourse. Such pitfalls have fuelled counter-cultural platforms like FELT Zine to take matters into their own hands, in an effort to reclaim user autonomy on the web. Part online publication, part art collective, FELT Zine balances the production of Web 3.0 and metaverse projects (like NFTs), with hosting IRL parties and exhibitions around the world.
The platform was founded in 2011 by Mark Sabb, and began as an independent fashion magazine. With the help of Co-Creative Director Devon Moore and Web 3.0 blockchain creative Jawn Billetes, over the past decade Sabb has transformed FELT Zine into a global community, committed to widening the conversation around digital art. Each of its issues spotlights a particular creative by featuring an interview with them, as well as a selection of their work in an interactive online gallery.
This summer, the collective launched their latest project, the FELT Zine NFT Art Shop. Home to curated collections, merch releases, livestreams and secret party announcements, this extension of the FELT Zine ecosystem was designed to empower creators, collectors and supporters alike, to easily explore and own art.
Text Morna Fraser
