The Dole Sunshine Company has teamed up with acclaimed artist David Datuna to produce an NFT range inspired by their Sunshine for All TM rallying cry. The aim is to raise global awareness of food insecurity and malnutrition while also raising funds to combat hunger today. On May 6 at 3:30 p.m. PST, the works will be available for purchase via the NFT auction site Rarible.com.
Dole has collaborated with Datuna to create an NFT series to further the brand’s aim of making healthy foods available to one billion people, which was inspired by Datuna’s viral banana-eating moment at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2019, which won him the nickname “The Hungry Artist.” With nearly a quarter of the world’s population suffering moderate to extreme food insecurity and one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted, the need for healthy nutrition has never been greater.
The Hungry Artist, David Datuna, said, “I’m a huge fan of companies that recognize their responsibility for stewardship and respect Dole’s goals to help ending hunger, achieving food sustainability, ending food waste, and promoting sustainable agriculture.” “My NFT series for Dole tells this tale through symbolic animations, sound, and imagery, in addition to the physical artwork.”
The collaboration is part of the global Dole Promise, which seeks to improve access to healthy nutrition, reduce food waste, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing food waste, plastics in packaging, and greenhouse gas emissions. The brand has already been hard at work around the world, and in 2020 it announced a collaboration with a number of public and private organizations in Jackson, Mississippi, including the local Boys & Girls Club.
Sunshine for All TM Cities is a Dole program that brings healthy food and nutrition to food deserts. The proceeds from the NFT sales will go to Boys & Girls Clubs to help them finance nutrition and hunger-related programs, such as Dole’s Sunshine for All CitiesTM initiative. The Dole Sunshine Company hopes to raise funds through this initiative to expand this program and other nutrition-focused initiatives around the country, strengthening the partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs and bringing education, pop-up farmers markets, and nutritious food to cities across the country, including ongoing efforts in Jackson and expanding to Baltimore and beyond later this year.
“We cannot achieve our goal of providing healthy nutrition to one billion people by 2025 on our own. This is why we look for partners that share our principles, including David Datuna and the BGC,” said Pier-Luigi Sigismondi, global president of the Food and Beverage Group. “In order to achieve structural change, we must combine meaning, imagination, innovation, and technology. This initiative best exemplifies our desire to make a positive difference in the world. David’s viewpoint on using art and digital media as a medium for recognition and social change is one that clearly resonates and encourages us as a brand that can literally eat its purpose.”
Taking a Bite Out of Hunger
Datuna will produce a five-part series focusing on the inextricable connection between food security and nutrition. The NFTs would symbolize people banding together to combat hunger. Sunshine for All, the fifth and final piece, is a pop-art influenced montage of the first four pieces that emphasizes the importance of closing the gaps in access to healthy nutrition for all. This work will also exist as a physical object, with Datuna’s signature lens technique, a layered composition symbolizing society’s various points of view.
On May 6th, the entire art series will be available for purchase. The fifth montage piece will be on view in a virtual gallery (Decentraland) as well as a physical location in New York City, which will be revealed soon, until May 8th.
The NFT’s net proceeds will be donated to Boys & Girls Clubs to support wellness and hunger-related programming, such as the Sunshine for All TM Cities initiative. In addition, Dole is collaborating with decarbonization advisor Aerial to develop a climate-positive approach to reduce the environmental effects of the NFT sale. This will have little effect on the amount of money earned at the auction, and it will ensure that any potential sales are properly offset.
Starting April 28, 2021, additional auction information will be available via Rarible.
Visit SunshineForAll.com for more updates and to keep up with the auctions.
About The Dole Sunshine Company
The name Dole Sunshine Company is used to reflect Dole Asia Holdings, Dole Worldwide Packaged Foods, and Dole Asia Fresh’s global interests and combined efforts. Dole Sunshine Company is not a real business entity that does business in any country or territory. Visit DoleSunshine.com or dolesunshine.com/doing-good for more details on Dole Sunshine Company.
About David Datuna
David Datuna is a Georgian-born American artist best known for his Viewpoint of Millions series, which includes portraits of Jay-Z, Steve Jobs, Marilyn Monroe, and others, and his revolutionary Viewpoint of Billions series, which debuted at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and featured wearable technology. David’s work can be seen in prestigious art fairs and galleries around the world, including Art Miami and The Armory Show. Datuna was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1974, and moved to New York City to start his career as an artist. Datuna’s work, as a self-taught artist, takes abstraction in a new direction.
About Rarible
Rarible is an online store for non-fiction books. It provides artists and enthusiasts with a forum to make, collect, and exchange digital collectibles. Alexei Falin and Alex Salnikov founded Rarible in the beginning of 2020. Rarible’s aim is to become a completely decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), with active platform users controlling decision-making and organization. They want to make it a public platform that is open to users by allowing developers and collectors to submit platform ideas and vote on platform updates.
About Boys & Girls Clubs
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has offered a healthy environment for children and teenagers to learn and develop for over 160 years. During vital non-school hours, clubs include compassionate adult mentors, fun and fellowship, and high-impact youth development services. Academic achievement, good character and leadership, and safe lifestyles are all promoted by Boys & Girls Clubs programming. Via Club membership and community outreach, over 4,700 Clubs reach out to 4.6 million young people. Clubs can be found in cities, towns, public housing, and native lands around the country, and BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on US military installations across the world serve military families.