Tom McLeod, Arkive: Building a Participatory Museum

What if the Smithsonian was owned and curated by the Internet?

This week, our guest on Web 2.5 is Tom McLeod, the Founder and Executive Director of Arkive, a decentralized, democratized, and participatory museum.

Arkive’s goal is to flip the script on how society thinks about museums, art, and who gets to decide what is historically significant and worthy of being displayed.

In this episode, Tom gives a behind-the-scenes look at Arkive, how it works, and some of the big works they have acquired.

Show Notes:
0:00 Episode announcement
0:34 Show intro
1:51 Tom's intro and career prior to Arkive
6:33 Understanding the museum world
10:29 Overview of Arkive and how it differs from typical museums
12:45 Comparing the Arkive model to a wholesale/retail framework
14:46 Overview of the works, acquisitions, and pieces in Arkive
18:01 Sponsored message from Hang
21:11 The acquisition logistics
24:09 Acquisitions from Madonna
27:09 The journey and joy behind discovering works
29:16 A final piece from the collection
32:24 The price of Arkive's pieces
34:35 How web3 is utilized at Arkive
38:35 The Arkive community
41:20 The community's future
43:28 Shill
43:56 Wrap-up
44:05 Closing

Show Resources:
Tom on Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmcleod3
Tom on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tmcleod/?hl=en
Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmcleod3/
Arkive’s Website: https://arkive.net/
Arkive on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arkive
Arkive on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkivedao/
Arkive on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arkivedao/

Show Sponsor:
Hang.xyz: https://www.hang.xyz/

Show Website:
https://www.web2point5.io

Subscribe to Show Newsletter:
https://newsletter.web2point5.io/subscribe

Show Credits:
Dana Hork (Founder, Host, Producer)
Ron Passaro (Co-Producer/Editor)
Seton Rossini (Brand Design/Cover Art)

DISCLAIMER: This show is strictly educational. None of this is financial, tax, or investment advice — and not a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. Please always do your own research. For important disclosures, see web2point5.io/disclosures.