Digital Art

We had the opportunity to interview Afroscope, an NFT artist making rounds in the digital space. Check out what he has to say about art, his creative process, and what he has in store for the future.

Many African creatives are very excited about the growth of NFTs. Some of the reasons are the very same reasons Afrofuturism is gaining traction within the Black creative community since the term was coined in 1993.

Through his mentor, artist and designer Kofi Obuobi learned that there were many African masks hidden in private collections, never to be seen again. To change that and keep the history alive, Obuobi started to recreate these masks as NFTs.

Do you want to be one of 10,000 owners of a piece of Banksy?

Like every major change throughout history, NFTs have their ups and downs. What does this mean for the African art market?

One of the boons of NFT is its ability to level the competition, especially amongst African creatives.

If you're curious, that's about 17TB of data.

After Quentin Tarantino ignored a cease-and-desist letter, Miramax filed a lawsuit against the writer/director and his Pulp Fiction NFT sales.

South African art director and illustrator Rendani Nemakhavhani first created the persona PR$DNT HONEY during the 2019 South African national elections. Under this moniker, she continues to create works celebrating the lives of Black women.

As part of the United Nations’ Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, the UN-Habitat and several other stakeholders created the DigitalArt4Climate initiative. According to their website, the initiative “uses blockchain technology to turn art into digital assets or NFTs, which can be collected and traded, thus opening up a socio-technological innovation space which helps to unlock extraordinary potential for resource mobilization and climate empowerment.”

Known for experimenting with technology, artist Rachel Rossin decides to mint her DNA on the OpenSea platform. What does that mean for Rossin and, broadly, for the future of digital technology?

Tired of the lazy term, Africa Art, artist Dennis Osadebe coined the term Neo-Africa to reimagine a more positive, bright, and hopeful Africa. Through the use of digital methods and traditional Nigerian imagery, Osudabe marries the two into an insightful look at present-day Nigeria and the world at large.

NFT had many features that should have made the space more diverse, but it doesn't seem like that's what's happening.

Known for using anamorphosis effects to drastically change historical monuments, artist JR's latest work is also his first foray into the NFT world.

Beltracchi’s new project, which he titled “The Greats”, consists of multiple versions of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi. In total, Beltracchi will be selling 4,608 NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. The NFTs will be on sale 5 days from the publication of this article. In another humorous poke at ownership, Beltracchi said that the buyers will not know which version of his Salvator Mundi they will get.
By protecting their IP, artists are still getting paid every time their NFT is sold. To help show the best artists on their marketplace, Alpha Quirk curated a digital gallery of the best they have to offer.

Among others, the NFT platform worked together with photographer Misan Harriman

After its closing on September 9, 2021, the two lots were sold for a combined total of $26.2 million. The first lot, which contained 101 Bored Ape NFTs, raked in the equivalent of $24.4 million. The second lot, with 101 NFTs from the Bored Ape Kennel Club, was sold for a total of $1.8 million.

The Bored Ape lot auctioned at Sotheby's was estimated to sell for $12 million to $18 million. With days left until its closing, the lot has already surpassed expectation with a current bid of $19 million.

An NFT collector by the name of Pranksy seemed to have some prophetic sense about his chosen online moniker. The Banksy NFT they purchased turned out to be... a prank.

For the past few decades, a different generation of artists is using everchanging technology to create not just a new type of art, but a new type of artist. Unlike the very homogenous club of the traditional art world, the digital art world is incredibly diverse, with all sorts of people, of all shapes and sizes, from all corners of the world.

With an ever-changing roster of artists, IT IS ALL AROUND US aims to show the infinite possibilities of this art form and the equalizing power NFT and digital art can have.

Once an institution as big as Christie’s decided digital art was worth selling, digital art became a legitimate form of art. Many artists were excited about this new legitimacy. But many also were wary of it.

Like most innovations in history, there’s a pros and cons list that goes with it. Does the benefit outweigh the cost?

The exhibition "IT IS ALL AROUND US" is showcasing NFT artworks from a variety of artists all around the world. The world of NFT, and digital art in general, is a vast, unexplored land rife with possibilities. We had a chat with the curator of the show, Jérémy Chausse, about why he thinks NFT is the future and what we can look forward to in the exhibition.
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There are a variety of stories, techniques, and visual language that will give the visitors of “IT IS ALL AROUND US” an understanding of just what NFT and digital art can do.

With prices dropping from the initial boom, is NFT here to stay?