Dave
Hey everyone, Dave here with another episode of the Philly Tech Connect podcast. Today I’m speaking with Francesca Augustine, a professional in the art tech space with a focus on integrating blockchain technology with the contemporary art market. Her company, Neftwork, is dedicated to creating solutions for art professionals and collectors, leveraging Web3 and blockchain to ensure transparent, equitable transactions in the art world.
Francesca, how are you doing today?
Francesca
I’m well, thank you for asking me to be here.
Dave
Thank you for joining us. As I joked before we got on the call, you are the intersection of two topics I really don’t know that much about—art and blockchain. I know they’re big, I know they’re impactful, and I’m looking forward to having you explain in layman’s terms what’s going on here.
But before we dive into that, I’d love to get your take on the art community in Philly. As someone who isn’t exactly an art connoisseur, I think of Philly as an artistic city. It’s known as the city of murals, right? And I see murals everywhere I go. But is Philly truly a city where artists thrive? Does the city and community support artists?
Francesca
That’s a great question. There is a lot of art in Philadelphia. In fact, it’s little known that performance art is actually one of the top three drivers of the economy in Philly. The art scene here is far-reaching. For example, the Fringe Arts Festival is currently underway, showing the intersection of performance, dance, and other art forms.
While there’s definitely a strong community supporting artists, financial support is limited. And that’s not just a Philly problem—it’s a challenge for traditional art centers like London, Paris, and New York. What I’m trying to do through Neftwork is help expand the audience for artists, especially those outside the major centers. The goal is to bridge into the existing market and open it up, rather than trying to create an entirely separate market like the NFT community has attempted.
Dave
Gotcha. That’s definitely an interesting angle, and it sounds like a topic we could dive into even further.
Let’s talk about your journey. Tell us how you got into the art tech space and what led you to create Neftwork. It seems like your history predates Neftwork by quite a bit.
Francesca
Yes, it definitely does. I’m dating myself here, but I’ve had a 30-year career in the art world. If you had asked me a few years ago whether I’d be creating a tech startup, I would’ve thought you were crazy! But it came from being deeply involved in the art community for so long. There are people in the art world with more clout than me, but not many with the same breadth of experience.
Throughout my career, I’ve taken on jobs that were interesting and challenging, which gave me a holistic understanding of the art market. One long-standing issue in the art world has been the lack of continuous royalties for artists. Once an artist sells their work, there hasn’t been a way to track subsequent sales and ensure they receive royalties. That’s where blockchain technology comes in.
I kept searching for someone who was working on this issue, but every conversation I had led to dead ends. Eventually, a friend said, “Why don’t you build it yourself?” And that’s how Neftwork came to be. Although this is my first startup, I’ve led not-for-profit organizations before, so this is just a new type of challenge.
Dave
That’s amazing. Tell me more about the concept of continuous royalties. Let’s say I’m an artist—although sadly, I’m not—and I create something that gets sold multiple times. Would I get a percentage of every future sale?
Francesca
Exactly! It works similarly to other industries. For example, musicians receive royalties every time their music is sold or played, and authors get royalties when their books sell. Physical art hasn’t traditionally worked that way, which creates challenges for artists.
Artists can only earn as much as they can physically create. When they’re young, they might sell their work for very little, but as their career grows and their art appreciates, none of the subsequent profits return to them. With continuous royalties through blockchain, artists can benefit from future sales of their work.
Dave
That’s really interesting. I’ve always thought of royalties in the context of music, where there’s a sort of financial longevity built in. So how does blockchain fit into this system? Does it help track ownership and ensure royalties are paid out correctly?
Francesca
Exactly. One of the biggest misconceptions is that blockchain and cryptocurrency are the same thing. They’re not. Cryptocurrency is just one application of blockchain technology. Blockchain, at its core, is a secure and decentralized system for tracking data and transactions.
Here’s a comparison: In 1994, the World Wide Web existed, but there were only 70 websites. By 1995, after Amazon launched, there were over 20,000 websites. It was a paradigm shift, just like what’s happening with blockchain today. The technology is there, and now we’re figuring out how to use it in practical ways.
Blockchain ensures security by decentralizing data. Right now, if your bank gets hacked, all customer data is compromised because it’s stored centrally. In a decentralized system like blockchain, each person controls their own data. That means if someone wants to hack 1,000 people, they’d have to breach 1,000 individual systems—far more secure than a central database.
With blockchain, we can tokenize assets like artworks. A token is like a digital title—just as you need a title to sell a car, you need a token to sell artwork. And because blockchain uses smart contracts, payments can be distributed automatically and instantly at the point of sale.
Dave
That’s fascinating. I think I’m finally starting to grasp it! But I do have one concern—what if someone like me, who constantly loses things, ends up misplacing the digital token? How do we address that?
Francesca
That’s a very real concern, and it’s one of the biggest challenges we need to solve. We’ve gotten used to centralized systems where someone else holds our information. Moving to a decentralized model requires a shift in mindset.
However, it’s not as daunting as it seems. Think about your car or house keys—you might misplace them, but you usually know where to find them. Similarly, with blockchain, it’s about training ourselves to manage these digital assets responsibly.
I’m working on a solution that involves a three-part key system to make this easier. It’s a new way of thinking, but over time, people will adapt—just like we adapted to managing passwords, phone numbers, and security codes.
Dave
That makes sense. It’s definitely a shift, but I think we’re approaching an Amazon moment for blockchain—a point where the technology becomes accessible to everyone.
Francesca
Absolutely. At first, Amazon just sold books, and it wasn’t even the first to do so. But it figured out how to make online shopping user-friendly, and the rest is history. Similarly, blockchain technology will become more accessible, and people will grow comfortable with it. Once that happens, we’ll see widespread adoption.
Dave
Well, I look forward to seeing how it all unfolds. Francesca, where can people find out more about Neftwork and your upcoming events?
Francesca
I’ll be at the Frieze Art Fair in London and the Basel Art Fair in Paris this October. In between, I’ll attend the Meridian event for Stellar, which is one of the blockchains we’re building on. And you can always find more information online at www.neftwork.com.
Dave
Awesome.
Dave
Thanks so much for being with us today, Francesca.
Francesca
Thank you, Dave. I appreciate it.