A graffiti artist uses NFTs to create a Revolution for housing access at Undr1roof.com
COVID has disrupted many areas of life recently. The pandemic’s devastating effects have particularly affected the world of real estate — rents were canceled, homes foreclosed, and people with less disposable income became homeless and houseless. With very few resources and a team of four including Micheal Arye, Ryan Holly and Dylan Hansen, the founder of UNDR1ROOF, a black female graffiti artist named Lädy Millard, decided to shift the way we think about housing. Lädy asked the artists in her community to create NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens ). The team has collected $1.8 Million in NFTs to date.
Artists from around the world have submitted conceptual houses that the team created into NFTs — currently being sold on various marketplaces such as Opensea.io and Foundation. The funding is being used to simply house people. The team also formed an initiative called “The Meek Club” where $1 a month gives members access to voting rights and helps fund the creation of a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization).
Lädy Millard has gone through multiple struggles in recent years including being displaced — after being arrested for protesting at Occupy Wall Street — The home she lived in was in disrepair from a pipe that froze and burst, flooding the entire first floor of her then 3 story home and artist studio. There were little to no resources then too, but then Lädy Millard banded together every artist she knew and took a swift tactic of inviting them into the space to bomb the space. The 53 Artists that came to rescue the space included such names as Ben Frost, Swoon, Wizard Skull, Shaina Yang & Kingbee to name a few. The artists donated works and raised the money to fix the plumbing. The tactic was successful and UNDR1ROOF celebrated with a huge house party.
Fast forward 7 years later and UNDR1ROOF has now generously turned the idea of a community of artists across the world banding together on its head. The team at UNDR1ROOF has housed two people in the last two weeks even though they are still in the fundraising stages. The first $300 they raised went to help house Alphonse Mendy ( Gambia Africa) & Peter Fowlin ( Jamaica West Indies) for a month.
“We live Undr1roof, “ says the artist who goes by the name Lädy — “What happens to the least of us is felt by us all.“
The team is planning a Clubhouse event called “The World’s Largest House Party” on May 17th, 2021 at 10 pm. Donate to UNDR1ROOF using their go fund me or join the Meek Club for $1 per month. Purchase their NFTs on Opensea, Kalamint, or Foundation. Artists can also donate a house for the project check out Links at UNDR1ROOF.com
Edited by Mike Arye
Photo By Will Miller
