Shanti Escalante De Mattei

Shanti Escalante De Mattei is a critic, journalist and researcher studying the cultural impacts of emerging technologies. She is currently pursuing her PhD in anthropology at NYU where she is researching crypto communities in Latin America. She is a member of various research groups including the NYC Linguistics Lab and the Digital Humanities Lab. 

As a former staff writer for ARTnews she covered the NFT boom, generative AI, and the collision of existing IP law and these disruptive technologies. Her journalistic work has been cited by the U.S. Copyright office, academics, and, best of all, Wikipedia. She currently a columnist for ARTnews. In “LinkRot” Escalante De Mattei writes criticism, profiles, and produces reporting on digital art. She also freelances for outlets like WIRED, the Guardian, the Art Newspaper, and others. She is Onassis ONX’s first writing and research fellow.