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The Censored Collection: The Story Behind the $55 Million NFT Impact Project that Helped Free Assange

Spotlight Join filmmaker Gabriel Shipton, producer of Ithaka (2022) and brother of Julian Assange in this revelatory session about how his collaboration with artist Pak created the 'Censored' collection, which raised $55 million USD for Assange's defense and freedom by engaging 30,000 participants to redefine activism and impact through crypto art.

In this groundbreaking spotlight session, film producer Gabriel Shipton (Ithaka, 2022), brother of Julian Assange, takes us through the radical storytelling of the ‘Censored’ collection, which used crypto art to activate a global audience. By combining an impact campaign with innovative NFT technology, the project broke the mould of traditional documentary formats, to create a dynamic, participatory experience which raised over $55 million USD through CLOCK, a digital artwork which counted Assange’s imprisonment days.

In conversation with Keri Elmsly, Executive Director of Programming, ACMI, Shipton will guide the audience through the evolution of the ‘Censored’ collection, detailing how crypto art was used to activate communities driven by a desire to challenge existing systems. He will share how 30,000 participants minted their own pieces on the blockchain, creating a dynamic art experience where the tokens evolved with the story of Assange’s imprisonment and eventual freedom.

Join Gabriel as he delves into the technological journey from artist design to message tokenization, minting, and the role of NFTs in reshaping documentary filmmaking. Discover how to harness emerging technologies like crypto art and NTFs to craft powerful, evolving narratives that resonate with activist communities, ultimately driving global impact beyond traditional media frameworks in new and radical ways.

 

Image credit: Julian Assange still with ‘Censored’, an NFT collection by Pak and Julian Assange. Courtesy of Pak.

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