By introducing the NFT marketplace Nandi, the African Digital Art Network, a global group of Black digital artists, is taking its first steps into Web3.
The new website promises to provide a forum for Black artists and creators to promote their work while also allowing them to gain financially from Web3 across the African diaspora. The platform was introduced by the African Digital Art Network earlier this month during the AfricaNXT conference in Lagos, Nigeria.
Chinedu Enekwe, who is also a Co-founder of the African Digital Art Network, co-founded the Nandi NFT Marketplace. The Nandi Marketplace is named after Queen Nandi, the mother of the legendary Zulu monarch Shaka. Enekwe, a Howard University School of Law graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from the University of Maryland, said: “I described my plan to start an NFT marketplace and build an ecosystem, which would include a studio for creators with the potential to generate funds. But, above all, it’s a means to assist companies and creators in receiving payment.”
The Nandi Marketplace was born out of a conversation Enekwe had with Jepchumba, a co-founder of the African Digital Art Network. Jepchumba was first apprehensive to get involved with NFTs, according to Enekwe, because no one had contacted her with a genuine community focus.
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are digital tokens that reside on a blockchain and serve as proof of ownership of a digital file. Osinachi and other African artists have developed new ways to succeed in this medium. Osinachi created art using Microsoft Word. At Christie’s London, an Osinachi collection titled “Different Shades of Water” sold for more than $200,000.
Black artists and innovators have a long history of being unable to profit from their work, with many being pushed into unethical contracts or unintentionally signing away their intellectual property rights. Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Records, introduced the Masterminds of Hip Hop series of NFTs last year to help recompense artists, stating at the time that “respect for the founding fathers of hip hop needs a renewal.”
The African Digital Art Network is also unveiling the Nandi Cowry community, which Enekwe describes as a global network of cultural leaders, tastemakers, and creators, in conjunction with the introduction of the NFT marketplace. The community will be represented with a collection of 10,000 NFTs designed by Johannesburg-based artist Sindiso “R!OT” Nyoni and minted on the Celo proof-of-stake blockchain. The NFTs, according to Enekwe, will have three degrees of membership: Tribe, Chief, and Founding. The Celo stablecoin, CUSD, will be used to price each tier, with prices ranging from $25 to $10,000.
Enekwe argues that his decision to use the Celo blockchain stems from a desire to be carbon negative or neutral. The Nandi NFT marketplace will support Ethereum once it switches to proof-of-stake.
“There are so many Black communities that have faced environmental injustice that adding to the future of their degradation just doesn’t sit well with us,” he says.
Building a marketplace is a fantastic start, but it’s not the solution, according to Enekwe. “What is the solution is having possibilities through our studio to engage with brands and other creators—being able to promote the finest Black artists.”