Maskay, an artist community in the NOA region of Argentina
Today we discuss with artists from the @maskaycommunity, a community founded by @stipinpixel in the NOA region of Argentina, and yungas and peripheral areas to help artists and artisans in the local area in web3.
"In Argentina, the NOA region (Northwest Argentina, peripheral territories, and rural areas) faces significant challenges in accessing technology and digital resources, which limits the integration of its creators into the global web3 ecosystem. Limited infrastructure and the distance from sociocultural and technological centers make it difficult for local artists to take advantage of digital art and blockchain—areas with great potential for creative independence and global exposure."
"Onboarding in Web3 from NOA requires not only tools but also an adapted strategy that brings these concepts closer to artists who, without adequate resources or internet access, can find in these platforms a way to expand their reach. In this context, Maskay establishes itself as a support network, offering guidance, collaboration, and development so that artists can access these digital environments and be valued internationally, overcoming technological and geographic barriers without losing autonomy over their own culture."
"Our mission is to democratize knowledge and access to digital tools, providing development opportunities in an environment where technological, educational, and economic inequalities create a vast gap from the world’s urban sociocultural centers.
Aware of the technological infrastructure limitations and digital access challenges faced by artists in the NOA, at Maskay we value blockchain technology as a key tool that opens new pathways for creativity, autonomy, and growth. However, we also encourage ingenuity and adaptability within the community, motivating members to use their skills to overcome any challenges that may arise due to a lack of resources. In this way, we foster an environment where innovation and collaboration combine to break down barriers, showing that limited access to certain resources does not prevent creators in this region from finding ways to transcend, using digital means to showcase their work to the world."
"We are a community founded by and for artists, a space of support and collectivity where the motto “Artists support artists” prevails. Our purpose is to mobilize and raise awareness of the importance of cooperation, not only as a means for individual growth but also as a tool to strengthen the artistic scene in the region."
Maskay is a space of gathering and belonging, where each member finds a place to grow and collaborate within the community. Inspired by the idea that “my home is my friends’ home,” Maskay becomes a refuge and a mutual support platform for local artists, promoting creative development and access to digital technology.
“I joined the space thanks to Stipin Pixel, who showed me this way to monetize my art. Also thanks to the support of the Maskay community, who helped me move and grow as an artist within the ecosystem, connecting with other talented creators from Latin America, who I probably would have never met outside of Web3. ”
"I'm Alexander Gonzalez, freelance illustrator and crypto-artist from Argentina. My work is heavily influenced by American comics and explores cyberpunk and post-apocalyptic themes, often inspired by my city, San Miguel de Tucumán. I have been creating and selling digital art on Web3 since 2022.
I joined the space thanks to Stipin Pixel, who showed me this way to monetize my art. Also thanks to the support of the Maskay community, who helped me move and grow as an artist within the ecosystem, connecting with other talented creators from Latin America, who I probably would have never met outside of Web3.
It's great to see that artists from our region are getting recognition, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this selection."
“Our intention is to help more and more artists from our region to be visible, to perceive NFT art as a job and that this is helpful for their daily life”
𝐂𝐀𝐍𝟓𝐈𝐍𝐎: "I am from Argentina from a small city called Tucumán, since 2022 I am active with my account CAN5INO and through time I have gone through several platforms and I have experienced different styles such as digital drawing, hand drawing with pen, but definitely the one in which I have developed the most is pixel art, in the world of nft art I have had the opportunity to meet many super talented artists from which I have learned a lot, but besides this since I was a child I have attended an art school where I have had the opportunity to marvel with artists like Roy Lichtenstein, Edgardo Gimenez, Marta Minujin, among many others, currently my work is strongly inspired by the sport and especially in football, sport that I practice since I was a child and I live with passion every day since I can remember, in my work I try to show the vibrant football through the colours, the speed of the animations and the diversity of shapes. In that art school where I went I met @stipinpixel, who pushed me to get to where I am today, he was the one who helped me from the beginning to create my nft artist profile, we are currently part of the Maskay community, a community formed by artists from the northwest of Argentina, an area of the interior of the country, our intention is to help more and more artists from our region to be visible, to perceive NFT art as a job and that this is helpful for their daily life."
"I'm an illustrator and crypto-artist from Tucumán, Argentina. I got into the web 3.0 at the beginning of 2022 approximately, where I started to show my art in different platforms and marketplaces, maskaycommunity helped me to move into this new horizon with tutorials and workshops with other artists where we help each other. During this time on the web 3.0 I was experimenting with my art, both as concepts and techniques, where I mainly specialized in creating original characters with cyberpunks, futuristic, celestial, medieval, etc. concepts. I use these concepts through digital art and pixel art as main techniques. Thanks to web 3.0 and maskaycomm I was able to meet great artists from my city and other cities in Argentina. During April 2024 I had the opportunity to be part of "Kismet Casa Mu Buenos", a residency for artists and hackers, where we worked together to create a Gachapon, a Warpcast frame with the function of a Gachapon game where you can try your luck to get works of the creators."
"I'm from Tucumán, northern Argentina. The Tucumán province is the most densely populated in Argentina, a lot of people in a small space. It is also one of the poorest but at the same time with the highest prices (rent, transportation, among others), it is a hard context and even more so for artists, however there is a very built community, with many plays, music bands and art shows. I believe that art is a salvation that we find here. We struggle with the problems (lack of access to services such as electricity and water, extreme heat, quality of life affected by pollution, etc.) In summer we usually have repeated power outages, among other things. So the collective is fundamental, if I have electricity and a colleague does not, he is more than welcome to come to my home to finish his work. At the same time we are surrounded by hills, there is a beautiful connection with nature and fauna. I particularly think that we are looking for a balance between being able to maintain a stable income, work, which is usually not related to art. I know very few people here who make a living from art, but what I am sure of is that many of us continue to live, thanks to art. I would define my art as explorative, multidisciplinary. I work a lot with improvisation and mixing different techniques. One of the pillars of my work is urban art (graff), I paint in the streets of Argentina for about 10 years, my representative character is a “bug” called “Resakosa”, there are variations of these resakosas, with different shapes and attitudes. I started in the NFT world in 2021, in versum, looking to bring the Resakosas that inhabit the streets, to the web3. I had a break due to work issues and I became active again in 2024 thanks to the support of the maskay community. As I gained more knowledge in design, illustration, animation, video art and web development. I was combining knowledge to generate more varied pieces, I think I'm still exploring to get to define my style. I believe that art is resistance, to create I try to think not only about myself, but also about the world around us, its problems and its virtues. Some of my references that inspire me, especially in terms of character and technique are: fruttaeverdura, The Myth, canekzapata and Quilla Nina. As a bonus, I love generative AI exploration. And I also created a free tool for artists called http://pixelao.com, a pixel canvas. I also make music, soon I hope to share some of that project :)"
"I believe my art is founded on the connection between images and words. I love literature, and every one of my illustrations carries a literary essence :) Nature and the world of dreams are also great sources of inspiration for me. Within literature, I am particularly drawn to the fantasy genre, and I think my illustrations reflect that passion as well. Just as I love poetry, I deeply enjoy composing poems and giving them a visual presence through my illustrations. For the Maskay Rooms collection, I wanted to incorporate elements of my own narrative thread. Since I am currently going through an inner journey, I chose to depict the connection between the internal and external worlds using the visual metaphor of a window looking out at a house—one that could very well be its own reflection in the world beyond. I love this Maskay project because it offers so many possibilities. I see the house—or the room—as a perfect metaphor for the inner space of every human being, and having the opportunity for so many artists to fill that space with their own unique essence is truly amazing. It reveals the true spirit of this community: the coexistence of what is identical and what is different in each of us, and the possibility of feeling at home and in good company :) This community is truly valuable to us. Argentina is a vast country, and it is often known for Buenos Aires—a great city brimming with art in all its possible forms. However, in our region, the northwest of the country, we are geographically far from that major cultural and artistic hub, and we face material limitations that are difficult to overcome. Thanks to this community, we have the opportunity to enter the art market and create value through our creativity and work :)"
“I would like to emphasize the work of the Maskay community because they do a very important job in the north of Argentina so that local artists can show their productions on web3 and decentralize from the conventional art scenes that are generally not so friendly to emerging artists (including myself) and make it possible to somehow generate an artistic career.””
"I'm rochilata, artist from Tucumán, Argentina.
I'm 23 years old and I study arts at the national university of Tucumán.
I mainly work with multimedia art in a hybrid way, I'm interested in photo performance, video art and video performance, I usually work with self-portraits and records of actions that I then intervene through post-production, I'm interested in digital art and mix it with more conventional modes of expression as I feel it enhances them, not taking it only as a record but as a piece of its own. I work the gesturality of the body, the representation from the portrait and the rest that bodies leave after occupying places in the world. I feel that in web3 the possibilities of showing your art rather than being static empower the artist to investigate and be more curious in their production and the form of representation. I started relatively recently to show my art in these spaces but everything moves so fast that it seems that I have been here much longer haha! and the truth is that I have felt welcomed by all those who are part of it.
Today I am very attached to the work of Ana Mendieta, Cuban artist of the 80's, I am very interested in her way of connecting with the body, how advanced she was, the nature and the rawness of the records she managed to make at the time.
I would like to emphasize the work of the Maskay community because they do a very important job in the north of Argentina so that local artists can show their productions on web3 and decentralize from the conventional art scenes that are generally not so friendly to emerging artists (including myself) and make it possible to somehow generate an artistic career."
“. Although the technological gap in my region was an obstacle, the mutual support of the members of the community was essential to grow”
"I am a resident artist from Tucumán, a province located in the northwestern region of Argentina. I produce works since I was very young and during my adolescence I went to a school of Fine Arts where I could expand my knowledge and grow artistically, it was there where I met Stipin who later, in 2022 would take me to know the web3 and the NFT's. At the beginning I had few technological tools so the contribution of the Maskay community was essential to be able to insert myself and upload my works Onchain. Although the technological gap in my region was an obstacle, the mutual support of the members of the community was essential to grow. My art could be framed as illustration mainly but I like to think that it goes beyond the simple creation of images where only the aesthetic stands out because they have an important narrative element from my love of comics and movies, where I create pieces loaded with a backstory and characters with depth that convey value and reflect part of who I am, my environment and my culture. Some of the artists that inspired me were mainly local, such as Aurelio Salas, Lola Mora, Xul Solar, Antonio Berni, Emilio Pettoruti, etc. Also some comic artists such as Quino, Roberto Fontanarrosa, Francisco Solano López, Dante Quinterno, Alberto Breccia, etc."
"I am also a conceptual and traditional artist, I have participated in painting and visual arts salons in Argentina, I am currently in Tucuman, the north of our country. Last year I joined Maskay Community, starting my web3 journey. So far, even though I only joined recently, we have done group shows both online and in real life. We work a lot and above all, with a sense of community in a territory where it is not easy to make a living from art. Also each one is dedicated to create with the means and interests that most appeal to them, it is very plural. At the moment I'm making pieces that have relation with memory and an outdated time. I work with digital illustration, video performance, installation, printmaking, drawing and other media :)"
