South African artists are embracing new technology and selling their work as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
NFTs are based on the same technology as Bitcoin and other crypto-currencies. Many artists are eager to take advantage of the chance to change with the times.
“…I actually think it’s a great opportunity for me to be playing in that sphere. The world is constantly evolving, and there’s a quote I like to reference a lot, where it says: ‘adapt or die’. I’m a very traditional artist, but I realize that if I’m just going to hold on to what I know, the bus is going to miss me. (…) “I think the most amazing thing with this digital space is it makes us compete completely at the same time with everyone in the world. Things used to be slow, you know, trends would start in America and would get to us a year later or two years later. Now we are current, so we are in the future, we are literally the same as any first world country” says South-African artist Fhatuwani Mukheli.
When an artist sells an original work of art, the buyer receives a confirmed digital token as proof of ownership.
The artists benefit because they receive a portion of every future sale when their work is sold.
“I believe it’s fairly exciting for that, and to open the gateways for artists who want to make the move and experience the best of the real and digital worlds of art,” confesses Dan Portat, an artist and founder of The Tree platform, which allows artists to sell their work.
“The blockchain was established to ensure that the legitimacy of the data remains consistent. Fhatuwani Mukheli, who has already sold two works of art as NFTs, concludes, “Even if a thousand people buy your artwork, it will still be documented on the blockchain that you are the creator and you receive commission from every sale you know.”
However, many people are concerned about the impact of NFTs on the environment, specifically the massive quantities of energy required to validate the authenticity of digital tokens.