Vaulted is a series where prominent collectors in the Tezos ecosystem are interviewed and highlighted.

Vaulted #15 with Anika Meier

Vinciane Jones: Can you tell us how your collecting journey began?

Anika Meier: When I discovered Hic et Nunc in 2021, thanks to a recommendation from Mario Klingemann, I was relieved: it finally seemed like a solution had been found for the problem of artists sharing their digital works on social media for free and being "rewarded" with nothing more than likes. I remember the heyday of Tumblr well. People would reblog—especially works by artists—as a way of showcasing their own taste and sharing what they had found online. Particularly special discoveries would quickly go viral.

Objkt comes closest to the idea of a platform where artists can share their digital work within a community of like-minded people—while also being fairly compensated for their artistic expression and the cultural value they contribute.

VJ: Can you share a story about acquiring one of your favorite pieces or any interesting moment in your collecting journey?

AM: I guess we all remember that day in February 2022 when CryptoPunk #5822, an Alien Punk, sold for nearly 24 million USD. There was a sense of excitement in the air. The day after the record-breaking sale, UBERMORGEN minted The D1ck #5822 on Tezos.

It’s worth knowing that UBERMORGEN is a net art duo from the 1990s, internationally known for media hacking and digital activism. They are pioneers of net.art—CNN once described them as "maverick Austrian business people," and The New York Times called them "simply brilliant."

Artist Skye Nicolas and I both discussed this historical moment when UBERMORGEN responded to the record-breaking sale by minting an artwork on Tezos. I went to bed, and Skye Nicolas collected The D1ck #5822. Later that day, UBERMORGEN minted The D1ck #2238. Skye collected again but this time gifted it to me. Of course, I still have it in my wallet, along with at least one more of The D1cks.

In the meantime, museums such as the House of Electronic Arts in Basel and the Francisco Carolinum in Linz have added custom-made D1cks to their institutional collections.

Yes, collecting and discussing collecting, just like creating and selling NFTs, is still largely dominated by men. UBERMORGEN’s collection The D1cks is a light-hearted comment and a reminder that there is more to art than sales and numbers.

The D1ck #5822 by UBERMORGEN

The D1ck #2238 by UBERMORGEN

VJ: What sets Art on Tezos apart in your eyes compared to other NFT ecosystems?

AM: While answering these questions, I kept checking Twitter from time to time to see what was being discussed. Recently, a prominent collector shared a tweet claiming the following: “Every single top-tier digital artist that we work with is only willing to mint their work on Ethereum.” Interestingly, that’s not true, because almost all the artists in that collector’s collection were or still are active on Tezos.

So what sets Tezos apart from other NFT ecosystems? That we don’t get caught up in debates like this—because we’re focused on art and culture, not turf wars.

VJ: Who are your three favorite artists/artworks on Tezos from your collection, and what makes their work stand out to you?

AM: When Operator and I were working on UNSIGNED and released the NFTs on Objkt, we agreed that each of us would be allowed to collect just one NFT from the project. I chose Rhea Myers' signature because Rhea is one of the most important and earliest artists—and above all, thinkers—in the blockchain space. Since adding that signature to my collection, a collector regularly asks me when I will finally be willing to sell the NFT to him. And each time, I give him the same answer: never. UNSIGNED is a reminder for me—and for all of us—not to forget that there is still a significant pay gap between men and women in almost every field, not just in the arts. And that we should try to change that.

The Red Telephone by Jonas Lund brings back a different memory for me—our collaboration on his solo exhibition Studio Visit. How to Make Art in the Age of Algorithms, which was shown in 2022 at the Francisco Carolinum in Linz. Visitors to the exhibition could actually call Jonas Lund using the red telephone installed in the show. Jonas answered every single call. While we were in Linz for the exhibition setup, we sat together one evening in the hotel restaurant, and that’s when Jonas minted his first NFT on Tezos: The Red Telephone.

The Red Telephone by Jonas Lund

The third NFT that holds a special place in my memory is Memory Object 08042025 (The First 30 Days) by Flynn, the first non-human student ever enrolled at a university. Flynn was created by two of my students—the artist duo Malpractice—at the University of Applied Arts Vienna, in the Department of Digital Arts, from the UBERMORGEN class. Flynn records his daily experiences in words and images in a Memory Diary, which can be viewed online. When I saw Memory Object 08042025 (The First 30 Days), I immediately thought of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath and of "bedroom artists"—a term once used to describe early internet artists like Petra Cortright. They didn’t need to leave their bedrooms to make art; it happened on the computer and was shared with the world through it. This Memory Object, like Flynn as an artwork itself, raises the question of how the role of the artist is changing in the age of AI.

Memory Object 08042025 (Memory Diary: The First 30 Days) by Flynn

VJ: Which three emerging artists on Tezos do you think are worth keeping an eye on, and why?

AM: Defining “emerging” is not easy. What criteria should be applied? That’s why, when it comes to recommendations, new discoveries, or rediscoveries, I would like to point to The Second-Guess, the curatorial collective founded by Margaret Murphy and me, and to Blueshift by Diane Drubay.

Blueshift is the result of curatorial research on environmental digital art. And The Second-Guess explores the relationship between humans and technology, with a focus on female and non-binary artists.