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- NFTs have become a rage for the technology savvy population. It is gripping the people worldwide, and Nigeria is not left behind this craze.
- Nigerian artists mint money from this art form and make their mark in the NFT space.
It is no doubt that NFTs are a craze in today’s time, and many people around the world are turning to this form of money-making. Beeple was the first person who started the trend for NFTs, and then it was followed by many. He had sold his art for a whopping $69.3 million via a British auction house Christie’s, in March.
Nigerian artists building income through NFTs
Now the craze is taking over to Nigerians selling their art on NFTs and making good money out of it. Oyindamola Oyekemi, Oyewumi, a Nigerian life, has come full circle as she started selling her art via NFTs. The 24 years old artist has created portraits using ballpoint pens and tweeted her drawing of Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson.
When he saw the tweet, he used it for the NFT sale. He noted the tweet and put it up on sale with his digital signature. The tweet was sold for $6,300 by the end of the month. This has become Hoskinson’s Twitter profile picture now.
In an interview with Coindesk, Oyewumi said that the power told her of NFTs by Hoskinson. He gave her a link to read about NFTd, and after reading it, she decided to give it a shot. She sold her first NFT she minted on Mintable. Her friend helped her convert the crypto earnings into the local Naira currency.
Nigerians accept NFTs with open arms
Since the trend has been spreading like wildfire in Nigeria, the local financial institutions are banned from servicing crypto firms. It means that Nigerians cannot convert their digital assets into Niara via traditional crypto exchanges. But this has not hampered the Nigerians’ spirit or the parts of Africa’s largest economy as most of its young population is tech-savvy.
Users are switching to peer platforms to avoid using banks, and the use of crypto continues, as evidenced by how local artists like Oyewumi are embracing NFTs. It is no doubt that there are many Nigerians who are pro-NFTs and embracing it to a high. Although minting their artwork comes with several advantages, they are still concerned about the impact of NFTs on the art world in general.
Feel good factor or not
Oyewumi, who has been dealing in NFTs now, believes that it is only beneficial to those artists who have a large fanbase. Some people prefer to purchase the artwork from the known people than buying it from the unknown or a novice. Hence, people might make pieces and upload them but not to avail any income from it.
Michael Ugwu is one such artist who likes to check the online presence of an artist and his work before making any purchase. Ugwu is a London based music executive and entrepreneur of Nigerian descent, and he owns at least 40 NFT pieces by artists from the world over, including Nigeria.
Ask him if it is difficult for the African artists to sell their artwork, and pat comes to the reply, of course. Some African artists minting their first pieces could be a challenge because the Ethereum gas fees sometimes needed to sell an NFT. He further explained that the fee is not cheap. An average artist may or may not have the $100 or $200. It’s going to cost them per piece. Hence, this is a small barrier for novice artists. But there are some platforms where the fees are either waived off or subsidized.
Oyewumi also has the same feelings as Ugwu. She said that new artists also struggle with pricing their pieces and end up selling their art for less than what it’s worth.
Osinachi is an acclaimed Nigerian artist whose collection has been kept by Ugwu. The 29 years old Osinachi has made his name in digital artwork and has produced most of his work using Microsoft word.
Osinachi started making the art in late 2000, and he always wished to display his work in the traditional art gallery. He has reached out to many galleries only to get disappointed for a long time now. But the crypto art has brought a ray of hope to his world, and in 2017, he saw that people are posting their artwork as NFT collectables. With the community’s help, he has gained benefits from the NFTs. In 2018 his art featured in the Ethereal blockchain summit in New York.
Alas! His dream came true when he was invited to show his work at a contemporary art gallery in Switzerland. His art was also showcased in Coindesk’s most influential people in the crypto-list in 2020. After getting the accolades for his work, in the same year, he quit his job as an academic librarian in the University of Nigeria Nsukka to concentrate on his art full time. One month before, he has sold his digital art for 13.2 ETH (around $27,600 as of Friday).
He got so inspired by the NFTs that now he is helping other Nigerian artists mint money for their work. He thanks this new form of minting money as he said that this form had given a path to many contemporary digital artists to make money, and most of the artists like him are getting the attention they deserve through this art form. On the other hand, he is also concerned about the other aspect of the traditional art world flooding the NFT space.
At your own risk
Oyewumi found the process of setting up NFTs very complicated while she was setting up her own. She had also faced many unfamiliar technical issues. She also experienced that the novice artists are duped without his knowledge. One of her colleague’s art was minted without the artist’s knowledge. Since NFTs went viral, many scammers duped the other artist’s work.
Darek Laufman was duped for his artwork in March when a Twitter user notified him his art was listed on the website for sale without his knowledge. He had complained to the NFT platform Rarible about the incident.
However, if you look at the other side of the coin, all is not bad for artists. Unlike Osinachi, other artists know about the NFT and are ready to help fellow Nigerians take as much benefit from the NFT as possible. With his NFT earnings, he has set up a fund that pledges 2,00,000 naira to young local artists between 15 and 25.
Many good artists in Africa and Nigeria are focused on physical work, and Ugwu is ready to help them get good knowledge and understanding of the opportunities of NFTs.
With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.
