Insights

AN INTERVIEW WITH CHIKAI OHAZAMA 

Chikai Ohamaza is an NFT Collector, founder of Superniftyfan, and a co-creator of Google Earth. Chikai is also the founder of one of SuperRare’s most dynamic Spaces, MONOLITH Gallery. The gallery’s mission is to help establish curation as a core part of the growing NFT ecosystem by showing its value and democratizing it. MONOLITH wants to redefine curation as an action that advocates for artists and challenges gatekeeping present in the art world. In conversation with Linda Dounia, Chikai recounts how MONOLITH was founded, the principles it is built on, and why a relational approach to curating is core to its success. 

Linda Dounia: How did you become involved with art, and what were you up to in web3 prior to setting up your space?
Chikai Ohazama: I have no real art background at all. I came into this completely by accident. I was in the process of closing down a company I had started and wanted to have something fun to distract me during this tough process. I came across this thing called NFTs and it piqued my interest. At the time, the Nyan Cat GIF was selling for half a million dollars. I wondered what it all meant. I started digging into NFTs, learning what they were, and eventually bought my first one. Then I couldn’t stop. I went down the rabbit hole and entered this incredible world of artists and collectors that I never knew existed. Getting into art through NFTs was serendipitous. At first, I did it on the side and spent a lot of time collecting. After some time, I started building tools to help me collect better and eventually decided to focus on curation.

"Ardent Indifference" by Prostov on SuperRare. Presented by MONOLITH Gallery.

LD: Not coming from an art background and being able to pull such a community around MONOLITH is an incredible feat. So let’s talk about the gallery. Why did you choose to start a Space on SuperRare? 
CO: I think SuperRare Spaces was one of the very first products to really push for the idea of decentralized curation. When I started collecting, there weren’t many tools to help me find what to buy, so I built my own tools. I wanted to help bring a future where humans are telling each other what’s worth investing in, not Instagram or Twitter algorithms. This is where curation comes in, because you need curators to be able to continue finding art in a sustainable way. I think SuperRare was the first platform I came across who offered the tools to do this through Spaces. I jumped right in and entered the Space Race the same day I found out about it. I lost the first time around but luckily got in at the second Space Race. It felt like I was a stop closer to a future I want to see for NFTs. 

LD: Did you enter the Space Race alone, or did you already have a team of curators you wanted to work with?
CO: It was just me and it's always been just me, for better or worse. Part of me wanted to show that you didn't have to have this giant team behind you or even an organization to build value in web3 through curation. I wanted people to think about curation as a very accessible path and that it was possible for anybody. That has always been part of the narrative for MONOLITH – you don’t have to be this big organization with lots of funding and a large team to get out there and succeed. 

LD: You hit the nail on the head there when it comes to the ethos of the Spaces, and we’ll dig into that more in a bit. You mentioned entering the Space Race twice. What was your experience the first time, and what lessons from it helped you the second time? 
CO: Trying to compete in a Space Race is a very different skill and mindset than actually running a Space. It's very much like, you know, running for office for a government office or campaigning for elections, which is very different from actually governing. I had to learn how to find and reach out to $RARE token holders, and communicate to them what MONOLITH was about. I also think it helped that I didn’t take a competitive approach. We were in competition for the race but we might be working together post-race, so I wanted to build relationships and count on other people’s support later down the line. It was very disheartening when I lost, but there were really good applicants with funding, some held $RARE, and some had more influence than I did. I wasn’t discouraged, though. At that point, I knew what to do, so I just tried again. Being part of a race means there will be winners and losers, so I gave it another shot. 

"Retro Glamour" by S on SuperRare. Presented by MONOLITH Gallery. 

LD: Seeing the Space Race as a way to build long-term relationships within the $RARE community is smart. That’s something applicants should definitely keep in mind. Thank you for that Chikai. Let’s jump into the MONOLITH Space after running for the Space Race a second time and eventually winning. What are you most proud of with MONOLITH? 
CO: I'd say first is diversity. I think that I have more women than men in my space. I also have diversity across geographies. And it has been successful. Being one of the top grossing Spaces with a diverse group of artists is something I am very proud of. It shows that diversity can be an asset and that curators don’t have to cater to a certain demographic to be successful.

LD: That’s incredible! In terms of your curatorial process, what are some things that you've enjoyed doing to achieve this? 
CO: I definitely think you should have a vision of what you want your Space to accomplish. There should be a greater mission that should lead how you approach your curatorial process. For me, it’s about choosing the right people who can enrich the MONOLITH community, because I'm not just building a gallery to sell pieces. I'm building a community of people who actively support and talk to each other as a group. From the outside, it may seem like it's just a gallery selling art, but behind the scenes, there’s an incredibly tight-knit and vibrant community of artists and collectors. We have a Twitter group and that’s how we keep in touch. It works for us because it’s still a relatively small group but it may evolve over time. 

"Ushguli Sunset" by Aaron Huey on SuperRare. Presented by MONOLITH Gallery. 

LD: What kind of conversations happen in your group? How have you seen artists support each other? 
CO: There is obviously some celebration of new releases but there’s also human conversations that go beyond art. It’s become a safe space where everyone is encouraged to celebrate wins, but also be honest about how we’re feeling and also the difficult things we might be facing. There aren’t many of those in web3 so I think our group is very special.  

LD: I agree. I'm also an artist and I can tell you that communities built around vulnerability are a rare and beautiful thing. I would love to shift the conversation to what your day-to-day looks like as a Space Operator. Especially since you’re shouldering most of the work by yourself. What does managing it all look like for you? 
CO: It's very chaotic. I think other people might be more organized than I am with lists or having a CRM system to manage everything. But for me it is a very organic process. I like to follow the flow of things and wait for the right opportunities and moments to capitalize on. My process is also very much driven by conversations. Sometimes, an artist comes up with a really interesting body of work that they are ready to release. I listen to them and try to align the Space with that. I start by learning the artist’s vision, figure out what they are thinking, sometimes challenge it, and devise how the Space can best support them. In some ways, it’s also about challenging them so I can figure out how to support them in the best way. From those conversations, opportunities will come up to release works and then we rally together as a community to get it done. I like that it’s a very organic process for me and keeping it small (I work with a selective group of artists) helps me manage that. If I had too many artists, I would need a lot more structure. A lot of what I do is very deliberate and organic, and that’s not necessarily how everyone should run their Space. I think it comes down to the intention behind your Space, having a clear intent and following through with it. 

"The Wave" by Tara Workman on SuperRare. Presented by MONOLITH Gallery. 

LD: Aside from having a clear mission for a Space and adjusting the way you manage to meet that intent, what are other tips you might have for potential Space Operators? 
CO: The mission should be clear, but I think there is always room to discover more and evolve it, evolve the way you understand your role and place in the community. That means being open to opportunities that may not be what you expected and have discernment to decide whether to pursue something. You may have an idea but the world might have a totally different expectation of where you are needed and can add value. 

LD: I’d love to learn more about your approach to community building. Tangibly, what does that look like for you? Are there specific activities you do with or for the artists you work with? 
CO: There are two simple things I do. The community I am building exists within the larger NFT community, and a large part of our interactions happen on Twitter. So it’s first important to interact and engage on the timeline to build community. To deepen these relationships, I also like to do IRL events. I have had events at the SuperRare pop-up gallery in New York, Quantum NFT in Los Angeles, and Art Basel. I think it creates strong bonds between artists and collectors, and it’s also an opportunity to showcase the work in a tangible way. It helps connect the small MONOLITH community to the larger NFT community, bring more eyes to its artists and increase their exposure in web3. 

LD: What about the collectors in your community? What does your relationship with them look like? 
CO: I communicate with collectors differently than how I communicate with artists. It’s something I am still trying to get better at. At the core of it, it’s about building relationships based on trust with collectors, learning their taste, and enabling connections with the right artists for them. An important part of getting a piece acquired into a collection is serendipity – the right piece, at the right time, for the right price. I think beyond that, for me as a Space Operator, it’s about keeping a pulse of collectors and knowing when to suggest the right work for them. That’s a tricky one because you have to gather insights on collectors and, most importantly, get the timing right. I don’t think there is a formula to it so I just try to keep conversations going, at a human level, and sort of empathize with collectors – who are they, what’s their perspective on art, what do they want. It helps that I am a collector myself so my experience and involvement in different collector communities has taught me a lot. 

"Relative Motion" by Justin Wood on SuperRare. Presented by MONOLITH Gallery. 

LD: Listening to you speak, it’s clear that wholesome community building is at the core of what you do and how you understand your role as a Space Operator. I think there are many ways to manage a Space and your relational approach to it feels right for your goals. 

CO: Yes, there's definitely not just one way to do it. I guess you can think about it like organizing and running a party. Some people are really good at wrangling a large crowd, and I am more of the small party type, where I can spend more time talking to each person. It’s really about knowing what your personality is and what you enjoy so you can do the work day in and day out and be energized by it. 

LD: My last question for you is what are some things you're excited about for your Space this year and moving forward in general? 

CO: I won the Space Race in April last year I think, and it’s been an incredible journey so far learning my approach to curation and building this community. Now I am able to sort of shape the Space into a more distinct style and bring visibility to new art forms or new artists that need it. The question I am going to be trying to answer is how to grow MONOLITH while still maintaining its ethos and the core values that got us here. It’s hard to predict what that’s going to look like because I couldn't have predicted where we are today. MONOLITH has grown into something that has a life of its own. I'm shepherding it, but it is also itself, guiding where it goes next. I am going to try and stay open to opportunities to grow even if they may not be exactly what I thought.