And Now DAO: Investing in Art In a New Age
May 9, 2023

About this event
Join the Center for Art Law as we discuss Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), the laws that govern these entities, and how they interact with the crypto and art world. Alex Liu, attorney and Director of Operations at Tezos Commons, and Merchant Coppola, visual poet, artist, and founder of Teia DAO LLC, will explain what exactly a DAO is, what it does, where they came from and the complexities in building/setting up a DAO. Alex Liu will focus the conversation on the legal framework involved in regulating DAOs as a crypto attorney and Merchant Coppola will speak from his experience as an artist on DAOs as a community, the purpose of art DAOs, the history of teia, and the future of DAOs operating in the art world.
About the Speakers
Merchant Coppola | Artist and founder of Teia DAO LLC
Merchant Coppola is a visual poet and artist based in Germany, whose works explore the nuances of words, symbols, and the (de)construction of linguistic meaning. They have an academic background in design, animation, and radio production.
In 2021, Coppola began researching and experimenting with the socio-economic and artistic potential of NFTs.
Coppola is also one of the founders and one of the managing members of the non-profit Teia DAO LLC, an open-source, community-powered art platform run by volunteers as a Decentralized Autonomous Organization on the Tezos Blockchain.
Alex Liu | Attorney and Director of Operations at Tezos Commons
Alex Liu is an attorney with a background in cryptocurrency and works as the Director of Operations at Tezos Commons. Alex started his law practice as a public defender in New Orleans, La. After leaving the public defender’s office, he worked as General Counsel for a restaurant group. It was his passion for cryptocurrency and blockchain-related technology that led him to leave his position as General Counsel to create a law practice that focused solely on consulting and advising new blockchain-related companies. He currently consults and advises new blockchain-related companies on a whole host of legally related topics from company formation, to security regulations, intellectual property protections, and much more. While consulting new companies, he also writes articles on medium focusing on crypto-currency related litigation.
Handouts and Reading Material
Read the handouts HERE.
Recording of the Lecture
Watch the recording HERE.