Remember NFTs? Non-fungible tokens were all the rage only half a decade ago, representing a form of digital asset ownership for goods like videos, artworks, and even memes, with some selling for tens of millions of dollars. At the height of their popularity in 2021, NFTs were trading at a combined volume of over $25 billion, but these days, 95% of all NFT collections have a market cap of zero.
Instead of letting them gather non-fungible dust in your digital wallet, the MCA is putting NFTs to good use by accepting them as payment into its exhibition Data Dreams: Art & AI over its closing weeks.
The exhibition transforms the MCA’s galleries into a series of experiential spaces inviting visitors to engage with the possibilities and provocations at the intersection of art and AI. Work from 10 visionary artists including Angie Abdilla, Ynicka Yi, and Fabien Giraud critiques the relationships between technology and power, the way datasets and algorithms are shaping our worldviews, and whether the environmental impact is worth it.
“NFTs were a unique moment in the artworld – demonstrating how fast art, culture and digital technology moves,” said MCA Director Suzanne Cotter.
“While they may have have lost their financial value, it doesn’t mean they’re worthless. Data Dreams: Art and AI is an exhibition about exactly that tension – about what digital technologies promise us, and what they deliver. Accepting NFTs isn’t a gimmick – it’s a chance for art lovers to turn something that’s lost it’s value into something priceless – access to one of the most important conversations in contemporary art today.”
The way it works is pretty simple: just let the ticket desk you want to pay by NFT and they’ll direct you to the MCA’s designated wallet address where you can transfer your token. Then you’re free to wander the halls of Data Dreams and reflect on all the mistakes you’ve made over the course of your digital life.
The gallery is accepting NFTs from any collection, on any chain, at any floor price, even if that price is zero. But hurry- the offer is only open for the first 95 tickets to represent the percentage of NFTs that are now worthless.
The NFT swap runs for two weeks from April 13 until the exhibition’s close on 27 April 2026.