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The skincare brand NIVEA is tapping into the connected world of NFTs (non-fungible token) partnering with Italian visual artist Clarissa Baldassarri, to explore and showcase the value of touch through digital art. Clarissa has suffered from temporary visual impairment early on in her career as a painter. This inspired her to rediscover art through touch. Based on the belief that a conscious touch can provide new insight to the world, and that touch should thus be accessible to all, a limited edition of a NIVEA NFT art piece is available for free for the first people interested in it.
With a Nobel prize given to the science of skin receptors and the trending topic of touch deprivation during the pandemic, touch has received more attention lately. However, touch as a sense still ranks lower in most people’s perception. Recent research* concludes that 88% of people would rank sight as their most important sense, followed by hearing.
With “The Value of Touch”, NIVEA wants to bring attention to the power of touch, using blockchain-based non-fungible token (NFTs) to discuss the value society currently attributes to it and spark a discussion about how touch can be valuable and powerful, even if freely available to all. NFT technology normally allows people to trade and own high-value tokens like art, collectibles, or real estate via cryptocurrencies and has recently become increasingly popular in the art world.
NIVEA’s NFT art will be minted on Polygon, a blockchain that uses proof-of-stake validation, with low power consumption and is optimized for environmentally friendly NFTs. NIVEA is the first mass brand to offer free NFTs that represent “The Value of Touch” with a piece of art directly related to touch through the artist and the creative process behind it.
When loneliness begins to take up more space in people’s lives, human touch and connection to others can make a fundamental difference. “The Value of Touch” is part of NIVEA’s brand purpose “Care for Human Touch to Inspire Togetherness”, launched in January 2021. Through this the brand supports human touch projectstopromote the quality of lifefor people at risk of loneliness, like babies born preterm, visually impaired individuals, elderly with dementia, and girls in vulnerable situations.
By 2025, NIVEA aims to invest 20 million Euro in human touch projects globally, with positive impact on the individual health and well-being of more than 150,000 people. Ultimately, each of these project outcomes cater to a strengthened sense of human connectedness and resilience, thereby alleviating feelings of loneliness. “Human touch is a powerful sense,” says Tobias Collée, Global Vice President NIVEA. “It connects us physically and emotionally, to others and to the world around us. We want to support people in their journey to rediscover the world through touch.”
The artist behind NIVEA’s NFT art piece is Clarissa Baldassarri, an Italian visual artist who suffered from temporary visual impairment early on in her career as a painter. The limitations she experienced inspired her to rediscover art. As part of her exploration of touch and the limits of perception, Clarissa created the NFT artwork using a special raised line drawing kit that consists of a stiff board covered with a layer of rubber and a thin plastic sheet.
The piece’s structure invites one to experience it through touch, thus making the physical piece accessible to a visually impaired audience. To create the raised line, Clarissa used a metal awl, an instrument traditionally used in the development of Braille texts. She was given this particular awl by her late friend Cecilia, a blind artist who first introduced her to the concept of seeing the world through touch. A short film produced by NIVEA documents the project and captures the artist’s creation process.
“My relationship with art is experiential and visceral,” says Clarissa. “My relationship with touch has returned to that of a child, when sight is no longer enough, and to know an object you have to touch it, handle it, risk getting burnt, stung or cut, because otherwise you would never discover it.”
NIVEA’s “The Value of Touch” NFT art can be claimed for free at nivea.com/thevalueoftouch.
More content about the project can be found at NIVEA’s global Instagram page @nivea.
Beiersdorf has stood for innovative, high-quality skin care products as well as pioneering skin research for nearly 140 years. Leading international brands such as NIVEA, the world’s no. 1 skin care brand*, EUCERIN (dermocosmetics), LA PRAIRIE (selective cosmetics), and HANSAPLAST/ELASTOPLAST (plasters and wound care) are cherished by millions of people around the world day after day.
Other renowned brands such as LABELLO, AQUAPHOR, FLORENA, 8X4, HIDROFUGAL, GAMMON, COPPERTONE, MAESTRO, CHAUL, and STOP THE WATER WHILE USING ME! round off our extensive portfolio. Through the wholly owned affiliate tesa SE, Beiersdorf is also a globally leading manufacturer of technical adhesive tapes and provides self-adhesive solutions to industry, craft businesses, and consumers.
The Hamburg-based company generated sales of €7,025 million as well as an operating result (EBIT) of €828 million in fiscal year 2020. Beiersdorf has more than 20,000 employees worldwide, who are connected by shared core values, a strong corporate culture and the Beiersdorf purpose “Care Beyond Skin.”
With its C.A.R.E.+ business strategy, the company pursues a multi-year investment program focusing on competitive, sustainable growth. The program is consistent with the ambitious sustainability agenda, with which Beiersdorf is generating clear added value for consumers, society, and the environment.
* Source: Euromonitor International Limited; NIVEA by umbrella brand name in the categories Body Care, Face Care, and Hand Care; in retail value terms, 2020.
Additional information can be found at www.beiersdorf.com.
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