“I’m super introverted,” said Nadezhda Torokonnikova, one of the founding members of Pussy Riot, in the rainbow room on the 65th floor of Rockefeller Center, where the NFT Naugala was held in earnest in June. Said when zoomed. twenty one.
“But it’s a job. As an activist, you have to do it,” she said of schmoozing. “You have to get your job out there.”
The door was charred and slid open. As the 32-year-old Trokon Nikowa walked around towards the entrance, hundreds of voice dissonances grew louder. “But when I hear all this, my heart freezes a little,” she said quietly, switching to Russian.
She didn’t stop to gather herself. I didn’t have time. Musician, artist and activist Trokon Nikowa, who passes by Nadia, was in New York and interacted with a crowd of cryptocurrencies at a conference focused on NFTs or irreplaceable tokens. Her schedule was full of discussions, parties, panels, and some performances.
Since being imprisoned for 21 months for performing a guerrilla-style work called “Punk Prayer” at a Moscow cathedral 10 years ago in protest of the cozy relationship between the government and the church, Trokonikova has been her. I didn’t get quiet about my feelings. A Russian power.
She was released from prison in 2013, and the following year she and Maria Alyokhina, a member of another Pussy Riot who served in prison, were founded. Mediazona, Russia’s independent news agency. In 2018, Trokon Nikowa published a book.Read & Riot: Pussy Riot Guide to Activism.. ”
December, Russian authorities With label She is a “foreign agent” and is a category used to oppress opponents. (As a result, she does not reveal where she lives.) After Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Ms. Trokonnikova Raised $ 7.1 million In cryptocurrency for Ukrainian medical assistance. “Putin is a bloody dictator, a terrorist, and must be stopped as soon as possible,” she said.
On August 5th, Pussy Riot will release her first mixtape, “Matriarchy Now!”. Tolokonnikova is the lead musician of the album and executive producer of Swedish singer Tove Lo. Collaborators include Salem Ilese, ILoveMakonnen and BigFreedia.
Some of the other famous Pussy Riot members, such as Alyohina, who recently escaped from Moscow wearing a delivery service uniform, are not on the mixtape.Aryo Hina and others are playing as part of a multi-city, not Trokon Nikowa. Anti-war tour in Europe This summer. Tolokonnikova said Pussy Riot is a loose network with no hierarchies. There is no leader, anyone can be a member and use the name as part of a protest.
But on this rainy Tuesday in June, Trokon Nikowa’s presence in New York wasn’t primarily about music. Created by Trokon Nikowa and several partners in March Unicorn DAOA funding and investment instrument built on the blockchain aimed at commissioning and purchasing NFTs created by women, non-binary gender, and members of the LGBTQ community. She was in New York to raise her awareness.
To date, Unicorn DAO has purchased over 1,000 works by artists such as Sofia Crespo, Claire Silver and Olive Allen. Raised $ 4.5 million With funding. Musician Grimes, a member of DAO (short for “Decentralized Autonomous Organization”), donated the NFT of her work to DAO’s permanent collection, and singer Sia is an active member.
After a brief lunch of seafood spaghetti and a few glasses of Aperol Splits at the Roxy Hotel, she came across her friend DJ Steve Aoki. Software company.
During the cocktail hours that followed, a group was formed around Mr. Trokon Nikowa, who asked her thoughts on NFTs and funding, or simply expressed praise to her. After she stayed for about 45 minutes, she left immediately.
On the way back, a fan requested a selfie. When her people asked her for a photo, she said, “They always say,’I never do this.'” She paused, and she smiled. She said, “What she said when she took a selfie with Bernie Sanders in Chicago.”
The next destination was a gala whose dress code was “inspired”. Trokon Nikowa appeared in various types of uniforms, including black fishnet tights, white platform shoes, short skirts, frilled tops, and fingerless gloves.
She called the outfit of the day a “feminist superhero.” The origin of the appearance dates back to the time when Pussy Riot began in 2011, when Trokon Nikowa was 21 years old. Save everyone, “she said.
For about an hour, Trokon Nikowa drank sparkling wine and chatted with guests, including Joe Rubin, the founder of the Ethereum blockchain. Musician Miguel. Michael Winkelman, a digital artist named Beeple.Winkelman is famous Sold his artwork NFT at Christie’s Last year it was $ 69 million and is a member of Unicorn DAO.
“”She actually makes me feel lazy. Because every time I look back, she started another DAO and donations such as $ 10 million, “said Winkelman, 41. “And it’s like,’What did you do?’. I drew a lot of pictures of Wiener or something.”
Tolokonnikova said it would be easy to get along with “Crypto Brothers.” “The financial world is very toxic and totally meaningless to me,” she said. “The ciphers are a little different. I have siblings. Many of them are geeks. I’m a geek myself. We’ve always spoken the same language.”
Growing up in the Siberian city of Norilsk, Trokonnikova said she was the one who helped the other students with their homework. Eventually, she studied philosophy at Moscow State University.
She said she realized the world’s potential financing capacity for cryptocurrencies when she sold NFTs. 4-part Pussy Riot video artwork 178 Ether, or a series created in collaboration with several other artists for about $ 356,000 at the time.
“This is life-changing money,” she said. It was distributed to everyone involved in the project, some sent to shelters for survivors of domestic violence in Russia, she said. (Today, after the crash, the dollar value of Ether they earned has dropped significantly: about $ 196,000.)
As an activist, she said she was always keeping up with technological changes in cryptocurrencies, blockchains, NFTs and more. We believe these are new tools that can be used while the rules for use are still understood and established.
The final destination of the night was the Bowery Ballroom. When the car was pulled up to the club, she dashed and reappeared on stage a few minutes later, playing Irese’s “Crypto Boy” about being dissatisfied with the boy who was talking too much about cryptography.
Roe v. In response to the Supreme Court’s leaked decision to overturn Wade, Tolokonnikova’s Unicorn DAO has created a cryptocurrency wallet that allows digital currencies to be safely, anonymously and easily donated to the Reproductive Rights Fund. The Fund UnicornDAO supports funding seven reproductive rights organizations, including Planned Parenthood and Fund Texas Choice. So far, the fund has received over $ 87,000 in donations.
Independently, Tolokonnikova worked with Ilese to sell some NFTs for the song “Crypto Boy”. The $ 170,000 they raised was sent to the Reproductive Rights Center.
Torokon Nikowa was not shocked by the Supreme Court’s ruling, but she was deeply disappointed. In her 2012 Punk Prayer, she said, “We have declared loudly that government and religion have no right to participate in our decisions regarding our body.” rice field. “A few years later, a country that claims to be the leader of the free world has allowed an abortion ban. It’s really, really sad.”
“Of course, it’s just a drop of the sea,” she said of her fundraiser. “But if we all make these drops and unite in one big ocean, I think there are many things we can change and influence.”
