Mat Dryhurst: The Future of Digital Creativity

In this episode, Mat Dryhurst joins us to discuss how digital art has evolved over the past decade and where it's heading next.We talk about blockchain, NFTs, AI, and the idea of protocol art - works that are defined less by a single image or object than by the rules, systems, and networks that produce them. Along the way, we discuss collecting, curation, online communities, software as an artistic medium, and why some of the most important developments in contemporary art are happening outside traditional institutions.Timestamps00:00 – Introduction01:35 – Growing up in Kuwait & finding his way into art03:09 – Collaborating with Holly Herndon for two decades05:26 – Music, software and creative beginnings09:29 – Discovering Ethereum before it launched11:07 – DAOs, crypto and building new institutions14:00 – Why ambitious artworks take years to make17:50 – Building a practice outside the traditional art world20:06 – Making artworks that exist as real software25:54 – Artist vs Creator31:04 – Is autonomous art a productive lie?35:04 – Why we value art we don't always understand41:14 – Inside *The Call* and designing participatory artworks44:45 – Why they never create work for the market48:28 – AI, backlash and losing friends53:46 – The biggest misconceptions about AI58:18 – Oxford, AI policy and the future of regulation01:01:44 – Matt Dryhurst on NFTs01:07:25 – What NFTs got right01:12:30 – Crypto art, digital ownership and why it still matters01:18:05 – Building culture on the blockchain01:23:10 – Final thoughtsConnect with Matt Dryhurst:Twitterinstagram