NFT incubator Ikonia and marketing agency Heraldist create an NFT to raise funds that go directly towards supporting Ukrainians
Two creative agencies are putting up for sale an imagined virtual raid on Putin’s personal art collection the form of NFTs. Poking fun at the disgraced Russian leader, the collection launched on April 5th. RaidPutin.com consists of a collection of 11,193 NFTs (one for each day since Ukraine declared its independence in 1991), with 100% of the proceeds going directly to three Ukrainian NGOs working on the ground, Return Alive, Everybody Can, and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.
Under the banner, “Putin is raiding Ukraine. We’re raiding his home”, the collection includes generative art pieces that reimagine the Russian president in several contexts and national surroundings, with props like the infamously long table, representing the isolation that he’s immersed himself into in the wake of the invasion. Rare pieces mean higher donations, with the rarest (the Matryoshka) unlocking a bonus NFT.
The only way to stop the raid from turning into additional NFTs is for Putin to put a stop to the war.
The initiative was born through a collaboration between two creative agencies, Sweden’s Ikonia, an NFT incubator, and Heraldist, an international marketing agency focused on startups and headquartered in Transylvania, Romania – with offices across Europe and the US.
Patrik Arnesson, CEO of Ikonia, says, "We have about twenty co-workers based in Ukraine, so this crisis has hit us not only professionally but on a very personal level. When Heraldist came to us with this idea we immediately loved it. There’s a humorous and satirical touch that is so powerful because you know Putin will be offended by the laughs. He would never allow it. But he can’t remove this collection from the blockchain, ever.”
“The collaboration came together through a desire to put our creative strengths to work towards a much-needed cause”, says the Heraldist team. “This war has hit immensely close to home and we couldn’t just sit idly by watching the humanitarian crisis unfold. As an agency headquartered only a few kilometres away from the Ukrainian border, we’ve already taken part in a number of initiatives to help refugees crossing the border into Romania, but we wanted to do more. The next natural step for us was to use our creativity and expertise to reach a global audience and help raise much-needed funds to help civilians fleeing their homes, as well as to rebuild their country once this horrible nightmare is over - which we hope will be very soon. Plus, anything to further damage Putin’s already-tarnished reputation along the way is a huge bonus.”
Funds from all purchases via the site will be directly donated and split between the three NGOs. When users resell their NFTs, a 10% royalty fee will again be donated to NGOs Return Alive, Everybody Can, and the Ukraine Humanitarian Fund.
Raid Putin’s art collection today and help Ukraine! Go to RaidPutin.com for more information and to purchase an NFT from the collection.