Introducing Prohibition: an Open Generative Art Platform on Arbitrum powered by Art Blocks Engine

✖️ Generative art for everyone.

I'm thrilled to introduce our newest venture: Prohibition.

Prohibition is an open, community-driven, onchain generative art NFT platform built on the Art Blocks Engine and on Arbitrum—an Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain.

We’re dedicated to making the process of creating and collecting gen art NFTs more accessible. And we’re building a great community centered around it.

🏖️ Launching this Summer.

📧 Sign up now to follow along: prohibition.art

👩‍🎨 DM us if you’re interested in releasing art on Prohibition.

The Prohibition Value Prop

Open and Accessible
No curation board. No allowlists. No mint passes. We lower the barriers to entry. Anyone can create, collect, and curate long-form generative art NFTs.

Vibrant and Diverse
We encourage participation from anyone, regardless of credentials or experience. This enables a more diverse range of creative voices to be heard and appreciated.

Best-in-Class
We're building an artist-friendly experience on top of the Art Blocks Engine platform. We also offer a range of resources, including mentorship, tutorials, and tools to help artists succeed.

The Story So Far

I've spent the better part of a decade immersed in the world of web3, crypto, and NFTs. From my time with ConsenSys, Totle, MEME, Nifty's, and now VenturePunk, I’ve helped build decentralized exchanges, DeFi platforms, DAOs, games, and NFT projects big and small. I've had the privilege of being at the forefront of some important developments in the web3 space. But it was the emergence of NFTs that truly sparked a new kind of passion within me, one that combined my love for technology with the boundless creativity we find in the NFT community.

Prohibition is the culmination of my long-standing fascination with onchain generative art. I was first exposed to this unique form of art through Art Blocks and Chromie Squiggles, and it was love at first sight. I've been a collector and fanatic of these works for years, and I'm thrilled to finally bring my unique, product-driven approach to this art form and community.

Why Art Blocks Engine?

Art Blocks is the gold standard in onchain gen art. Those same battle-tested contracts and tools power the Prohibition platform in the form of Art Blocks Engine. With Engine under the hood, we're able to focus on the artist experience and collector community.

The decision to build Prohibition on the Art Blocks Engine was a natural one. Art Blocks has been a seminal part of this ecosystem and of my personal journey in the NFT space. The platform has been a constant source of inspiration. I'm honored to call its founder, Snowfro, a friend and supportive investor in VenturePunk.

Why Arbitrum?

Arbitrum is a growing, but thriving Layer 2 blockchain on top of Ethereum. It allows for low transaction costs for artists (allowing for more complex, data-heavy scripts) as well as collectors (helping to onboard new users). It offers the scalability and affordability we need to make Prohibition accessible to everyone. By reducing cost barriers, we aim to democratize the space, giving everyone an opportunity to create and collect this incredible form of art. Arbitrum’s next-generation rollup architecture provides 7x more throughput than Ethereum and lower fees without sacrificing any security.

All for art. Art for all.

At its core, Prohibition is about more than just providing a platform for generative art—it's about community. It's about opening the doors to everyone, breaking down barriers, and fostering an environment where artists and collectors can connect over their shared love for art.

We're not just launching a platform; we're starting a movement for inclusivity and creativity in the NFT space. We're offering mentorships, providing gen art tutorials, and creating a low-stakes environment where anyone can be an artist or collector. We're building an ecosystem where you can not only appreciate and acquire art but also learn about the history and beauty of generative art. It's about art for art's sake and the joy of creating and collecting.

Prohibition is a VenturePunk Joint

I'm incredibly grateful to have an amazing team and group of investors, including ConsenSys Mesh, Polygon Ventures, Punk DAO, The LAO, Bufficorn Ventures, Lemniscap, and many angel investors, like Snowfro, Devin Finzer, Bobby Ong, Ben Lakoff, Andrew Jiang, and Ben Roy, who believe in our mission and are committed to making Prohibition a success.

We're all united by the vision of making generative art accessible to everyone, and I can't wait to see what we can achieve together.

Launching Prohibition feels like the natural next step in my journey. It's an opportunity to put my spin on the world of generative art and to share the joy and fulfillment I've found in this space with many others. It's an honor to be a part of this community, and I'm excited to continue contributing in a meaningful way.

We’re working with Shillr

Built by a dedicated team of crypto natives (and a few fellow punks), SHILLR is a consulting and growth agency in web3 with a focus on fine art NFTs. We’re proud to call them partners and leverage their expertise in the areas of marketing and community.

Calling All Creative Coders!

Prohibition is set to launch this summer. We're looking for a small group of artists to make up our genesis batch to drop on the Prohibition platform.

We'd like to invite you to an artist-only Discord server to help with any issues and prepare for the upcoming launch.

Please reach out to Jordan Lyall on Twitter or Email if you’re interested in releasing work on the platform.

In Closing

Visit Prohibition: https://prohibition.art
Follow us on Twitter: @prohibitionart

Here's to a new chapter in our collective journey.
Here's to breaking down barriers and fostering creativity.
Here's to Prohibition. 🍻

✖️

Jordan Lyall
Founder/CEO
VenturePunk