Norwegian Cruise Line has announced the first digital art collection for sale by a cruise line. Sold as NFTs or non-fungible tokens, the six digital artworks are innovative designs by artist Manuel Di Rita, widely known as Peeta, representing Norwegian’s newest ship, Norwegian Prima.
All proceeds for the artwork will be donated to Teach for America, a diverse network of people who work to combat and confront educational inequity by teaching to create a nation free from this injustice. The pieces will be sold starting at $250 to $2500.
Norwegian Cruise Line’s Hull Art Becomes A Digital Artwork
NFTs have been widely reported on lately and have become a valuable commodity in the last couple of years. With Norwegian Cruise Line known for their extensive works of art on the hulls of their cruise ships, NFTs and Norwegian seem to be a perfect fit, especially when it comes from a well-known and modern artist such as Manuel Di Rita, famous for his urban artwork.
Six artworks will be up for auction as NFTs, all of which are either digital representations of Norwegian Prima’s hull artwork, a visualization of the workflow between artist and cruise line, and/or digitalization of artworks on show inside Norwegian Prima.
All proceeds of the auction will benefit Teach for America, a non-profit organization that works to eliminate educational injustices in the Education system:
Harry Sommer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Norwegian Cruise Line: “We are so excited to partner with Peeta on this first for our brand and for the industry. Peeta is a talented artist who has brought the magic and beauty of the ocean to our ships, so we are happy to share this with our guests and to donate the proceeds of this new venture to Teach For America, an organization and a cause very near and dear to our hearts.”
The six artworks are:
- Relative Coordinates: A rearrangement of some of the shapes used on the hull art featured on Norwegian Prima and Viva. The NFT is a digital copy of a piece that will be on display in the Brand’s three-story Penrose Atrium.
- Core Concepts: This piece was created using the elements and lessons “Peeta” learned after drafting the first iterations of the hull art. It shows a classic “Peeta” style lettering. The NFT is a digital copy of a piece on display aboard Norwegian Prima.
- Prima Hull Art Sketch 1: this piece is an original sketch and features a crop of the larger composition from the final artwork featured on Norwegian Prima’s hull art.
- Prima Hull Art Sketch 2: This piece features a crop of the larger composition from the final artwork featured on Norwegian Prima’s hull art.
- Flowing Data: this piece is inspired by the entire creative process of designing Norwegian Prima’s hull art.
- Norwegian Prima Hull Art: this NFT reflects the captivating and innovative design highlighting fluid shapes, with unperceivable beginning and ends, like an ocean.
What is an NFT?
NFTs are non-fungible tokens. A piece of data that is stored on a blockchain. NFTs can be any kind of digital data but have become famous as digital artworks, such as digital paintings, music, videos, and photos, selling for millions of dollars.
There are similarities to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, but NFTs are entirely unique. The most expensive NFT ever sold was “Merge” by Pak, which generated $91.8 million.
Scott Piccolo, Chief Digital Experience Offer at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd, said, “We strive to adopt the most cutting-edge technology at Norwegian Cruise Line and strongly believe that providing our guests the opportunity to own digital assets that connect them with an unforgettable cruise experience is an essential step forward. We are incredibly proud to work with Peeta on the cruise industry’s first ever NFT collection.”
The auction will start at 9 AM ET on Wednesday, April 13. Starting prices for the digital artworks are $250 dollars for the first five, while number six, Norwegian Prima Hull Art, will begin at $2500.
Norwegian Prima is the first of six Prima-class vessels and introduces a new era of cruising for NCL. The vessel is currently in the final outfitting phase at the Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. Norwegian Prima is 142,500 gross tons and has a guest capacity of 3,215 at double occupancy.
After her inauguration by godmother Katy Perry, she will offer inaugural voyages to Northern Europe from Southampton, England; Amsterdam; and Reykjavík, Iceland, starting later this year in August.
