Why Decentralized Storage is Vital for Social Impact Stories and Art
Permanence, Accessibility and Authenticity
At Change.Gallery, we believe in the transformative power of art and storytelling. Our commitment to decentralized storage is not just about protecting these assets but about empowering artists and storytellers to create lasting social impact. It means that each NFT is a Proof of Change which collectors can count on existing decades and hundreds of years from now as a symbol that they shouldered up with the movement.
The Change.Gallery Platform
We have designed a hybrid storage system where vital information associated with the NFT is stored on-chain, and all information and media assets are stored in decentralized storage (IPFS). Watch this 2-minute video to learn more about IPFS.
1. Ensuring Permanence
The internet as we know it is notoriously ephemeral. Websites come and go, information is lost or altered, and the digital artworks and stories that represent our culture can be all too easily lost. Centralized servers, susceptible to physical damage or cyber-attacks, further compound this impermanence.
Decentralized storage, however, reduces this risk by distributing copies of data across multiple locations. With no single point of failure, data becomes virtually impossible to lose or destroy completely, preserving crucial social impact stories and artwork for generations to come.
Art and stories of social impact are not just valuable in terms of their cultural importance; they also represent digital property that needs to be protected. Decentralized storage systems typically encrypt each piece of data, ensuring that it is secure and can only be accessed or reassembled by those with the necessary permissions. For us this also means that *only* the Changemakers has the capability of making changes to their NFTs; and no authority has the power to censor or block this media from being accessed.
2. Promoting Accessibility
One of the main aims of social impact art is to inspire change by reaching as many people as possible. And for Change.Gallery, that reach must go beyond Web3 and be accessible to stakeholders like the United Nations and all those working toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Traditional centralized storage systems often limit the accessibility of data due to location-specific restrictions or server downtime. We all know the feeling of seeing media articles and images disappear when those organizations quit paying for hosting — or decide to remove content entirely.
In a decentralized network, however, the data is everywhere and nowhere at once, making it globally accessible. This widespread accessibility increases the chance of these stories being heard and the art being seen, allowing for a broader reach and greater impact.
3. Authenticity
Social impact art and stories secured in decentralized storage are resilient, immutable and authentic from day one. Our platform provides a simple way for changemakers to ensure provenance — or chain-of-custody — with their art and stories. By using the public blockchain, Change.Gallery enables independent third-parties to uplift this work as genuine, authentic and a contribution to the big picture.
Change.Gallery and the Future of Social Impact Art and Storytelling
As we embrace this technology, we’re not just preserving our culture; we’re actively contributing to its growth and evolution. By securing the permanence and accessibility of social impact art, we’re ensuring these stories continue to inspire change and promote understanding, one piece of art at a time.
For all the benefits of decentralized storage, it still requires significant technical expertise to leverage for NFTs. We intend to make this powerful technology more accessible to our community by developing a no-code solution for artists to publish their art and stories to decentralized storage independently. And we’re exploring ways to broaden our scope of what ‘media’ Changemakers can publish as NFTs, including generative art.
Decentralized storage, in essence, is not just a technology but a strategy, one that upholds the principles of democratic access, resilience, and security at the heart of the digital era. It’s a strategy that ensures the voices of today are heard by the generations of tomorrow. It’s a strategy that Change.Gallery is proud to champion.
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David All is the founder and CEO of Change.Gallery. He is a former speechwriter in the US Senate, leadership communications director in the US House of Representatives, and pioneered social media in advocacy and politics. On Twitter he is one of the few followed by both Barack Obama and Newt Gingrich.
