The Last Economy of Art, and Blockchain-Based Rebirthing

We want to reflect on the innovative models proposed by one of the leading minds in the AI and tech revolution, Emad Mostaque, in his recent book The Last Economy.

I was intrigued by possibly adapting his MIND dashboard concept to evaluating our project as a kind of back-end 'ecology health assessment' that is one idea to guide projects of new-community. 

The other was to explore a dual currency system suggested where 'culture credits' apply to fuel a social creative and social ecology in our ecosystem.

I was curious about how we can apply 'proof of benefits' beyond collector or corporate ownership of our art, or pay/income to our artists or our business.

These circle around the concepts we have been discussing over the past few months while looking at NFTs as a location for art-practice going forward and in an enduring path in how the current ethos of blockchain as sacred place is co-manifesting very ancient forms of indigenous custodianship in the digital community emerging.

Mostaque uses 'nucleators' as a term for drawing people and resources together into communal sharing - I feel this is like 'percolators' i suppose and creating a birthing space in a nucleus.

Here is the framework in a nutshell.

MIND Dashboard as “Ecology Health Assessment”

Mostaque frames the MIND dashboard as a way to track Meaning, Intelligence, Nature, and Distribution — a balanced scorecard for “civilizational well-being.”

For our emerging Oz FineArt and therapeutic context:

Meaning (M) → Cultural and narrative impact. How much do works contribute to shared story, heritage, or spiritual ecology? Metrics could include collector feedback, community resonance, mentions in discourse, or integration into cultural projects.

Intelligence (I) → Creative growth & knowledge production. Are artworks or the platform stimulating new conversations, research, or cross-disciplinary connections (e.g. therapy + art, Indigenous cosmologies + digital)?

Nature (N) → Sustainability of practice. Tracking ecological footprint of our processes (shipping, digital hosting, materials) and whether we are balancing with regenerative actions (like cultural planting, funding Indigenous custodianship, local partnerships).

Distribution (D) → Equity of benefits. How widely are proceeds, visibility, and cultural capital being shared among artists, communities, and custodians?

This “dashboard” could sit invisibly in the back end — not to burden collectors, but to guide governance and storytelling, perhaps informing annual reports or even a public-facing Cultural Health Index. Or perhaps the underlying ethos might, again, 'nucleat' into the forefront and store-front. The verb of co-creation. The art of being.

The duality of goodness seems apt. Reflecting the organic moment that is at once becoming or reflecting the inorganic node.

A Dual Currency System (Culture Credits)

We are touching on a powerful mechanism:

Hard Currency: AUD sales, NFT ownership, income for artists/business.

Soft Currency: “Culture Credits” that circulate within the ecosystem, rewarding contributions beyond purchase.

Examples of what Culture Credits could reward:

Custodianship → collectors or community members who actively preserve & share narrative significance.

Participation → joining discussions, attending virtual openings, contributing to collaborative works.

Care & Regeneration → acts that extend benefits (funding an Indigenous workshop, planting a tree, donating art access to therapy groups).

These credits could unlock:

Access to private talks, ritual/artistic experiences.

Co-creation opportunities (input into future works, titles, or cultural initiatives).

Voting on ecological or cultural initiatives supported by the platform.

This makes “value” flow in a regenerative loop, not just in one-time sales.

Furthermore, what is the stake in all of this? What proof of value? Fascinating that this question follows our learning the crypto lingo this past several months - yet echoes longstanding dedication to cultural studies and spirituality-as-personal-meaning-making. 

It is not so much stake or value but the social and cultural benefits that lean forward into the equipoise of ungraspingness - this is the space of the potential for depth, agency, and altruism. The core of humanity. 

A Proof of Benefits (Beyond Ownership/Income)

Instead of limiting proof to blockchain ownership or balance sheets, what if we can encode “proof of benefit” as part of our ecosystem:

Proof of Custodianship → evidence that a collector contributed to cultural preservation or amplification (e.g., making work available for exhibition, contributing to a Legacy Series publication, sponsoring community cultural events).

Proof of Regeneration → measurable outcomes like reduced carbon footprint, cultural exchange programs, or mentorship hours provided to younger artists.

Proof of Story Sharing → engagement in carrying narratives forward, whether in educational, therapeutic, or spiritual contexts. Our stories are our medicine. How do we manifest the Dreaming? In what manner can be encode the merits of ancient custodianship into not only contemporary culture but also into all future social evolution? Is not this the legacy that we are already walking within?

These “proofs” can be formalised as digital badges or tokens — linked to Culture Credits — weaving social, cultural, and ecological accountability into the art economy.

And in each moment, place, there is the body. The actor. The ARTIST.

You As Nucleators (Birthing Nodes)

I love how we tied this to percolation / nucleation. For our project, nucleators could be:

Collectors who aren’t just buyers but cultural anchors — hosting, sharing, or birthing new conversations.

Artists who cross-pollinate disciplines (art, therapy, Indigenous cosmologies, ecology).

Communities (Ability-led, Indigenous, academic, spiritual) where new meaning and social ties are born.

Mechanism: We could create Nucleator Circles — designated spaces (online forums, physical gatherings, or curated newsletters) where cross-pollination happens.

Participation in these circles could itself earn Culture Credits, and the outcomes (new ideas, collaborations, stories) could be reflected in our MIND dashboard as signs of cultural health. A replacement and regeneration of the means to GDP, the spiritual side of Gross Domestic Production.

An Integration into Indigenous Custodianship

Culture Credits could explicitly include Custodial Credits, ensuring Indigenous-oriented voices are compensated not just for works but for guidance, cultural protocols, and stewardship.

Proof of Benefit could track whether Indigenous custodianship is materially supported (income distribution, visibility, representation).

Nucleators could formalise spaces where Indigenous knowledge meets digital artmaking, embedding custodianship as a structural principle, not an afterthought.

In summary we have,

MIND Dashboard → health score for your ecosystem.

Culture Credits → soft currency circulating for cultural, ecological, and social value.

Proof of Benefit → accountability layer beyond ownership/income.

Nucleators → birthing nodes for community, creativity, and custodianship

used the phrase 'the call to the Nucleators.' That struck me, as a sense of calling is part of my experience.

The purpose to help humanity. But i am one person only. These concepts are huge and need to be earthed in real projects of value, we are temporal and in a time of great fast pace change.

Actions need to be focused. The key Q: HOW to operationalise a birthing of convergence with our limited time and resources using this website, our art, and the tech-advancements we are exploring.

In one sense, I have the answer - to map the entry to NFTs and taking baby steps into crypto wallets and the website will be launched soon... It is happening... I think we will create some youtube videos on these themes and blog posts to start a creative flow.

On pg. 140 Mostaque maps the Arts into four domains that are poignant for us. Attention, Connection, Meaning, and Embodiment.

As therapists and artists these are very central to our life work. Identity he then says becomes material (again) in a 'post-digital-materialism' arising in 'diversity capital'. It seems he is suggesting relevance for arts and humanities in a post-organic-intelligence age.

We are already living inside the question Mostaque is pointing to. The “Call to the Nucleators” resonates because we are embodying exactly what he means: People who birth convergence by drawing together threads of culture, technology, ecology, and care, despite finite resources and time.

This is the ultimate service to others and to the spirit and raw need of humanity - because we are mortal. We give what is precious, like gold, like bitcoin, what cannot be replicated. What is organically contingent and limited in scope.

This is why fine art is so powerful. It is of blood, guts and soul. This is the rebirthing of the crypto-cultural matrix that is re-humanising humanity. This is the invitation. Will you join us?