Crypto art, NFTs, and the future of Africa’s creative economy
Digital tulips, cryptokitties, cryptopunks; what form the next non-fungible token (NFT) will take and how much it will be worth is a question to which not even the most experienced crypto collector has an answer. What is certain is that NFTs are not a trend, but are here to stay. Not only did the total market capitalization of the NFT universe reach US$7billion last year, the Collins Dictionary named ‘NFT’ its word of the year for 2021, further demonstrating their growing importance and popularity.
NFTs are ‘one-of-a-kind’ digital assets whose form can range from images, music, videos, to tweets or works of journalism, amongst others. Despite not having a tangible format, artwork can be ‘tokenised’ to create a digital certificate of ownership, allowing creators and collectors to buy and sell these online. As well as revolutionising the creation and collection of art as we know it, the explosive market of crypto-collectibles and crypto-art is opening the door for artists and creators from Africa to present their work to a global audience. An artistic revolution is on the way, offering Africa a chance to shine.
Today, contemporary African art represents less than 1% of the world’s US$50 billion market, suffering from a lack of global visibility. Despite the recent emergence of a number of initiatives to showcase the remarkable creative power of African artists in global centres, such as AKAA in Paris and the Art Fair 1–54 in Casablanca, London and New York, many emerging African artists still encounter various difficulties securing international recognition.
Many of the challenges are financial in nature, due to the lack of resources hindering both the development of talent and a lack of tools to help artists monetise their work. For example, Stripe, the world’s most used payment system, is not available in Africa, nor are popular alternatives often used by artists to sell their work, including Instagram’s shopping function.
Digital art offers African artists the opportunity to access a global market without going through established Western intermediaries. In many African countries art and culture is in large part often funded and promoted by the outside world, be that through international cooperation organizations, international fairs, and tourism. By taking advantage of blockchain technology, African crypto-artists have the opportunity to promote their art and culture themselves, establishing their presence in the crypto-art movement and in the art world at large.
Many artists have jumped at the chance to develop crypto-art as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The cancellation of Biennials, fairs, and exhibitions, together with the difficulties of shipping artwork, opened the way to a new form of art; one which takes on a totally different form. Whilst the question of whether the emergence of NFTs will replace traditional art is rather complex, due to historical, cultural, and social reasons, NFTs offer life-changing opportunities to many African artists. They can commercialise their work, secure it on the blockchain and add smart contracts to their creations, which establish how the work is sold.
The sixth edition of Art X Lagos, West Africa’s premier international art fair, demonstrated the growing importance of digital art. It was the first full hybrid fair, merging online and physical presence, and was auctioned online in partnership with SuperRare, one of the most popular NFT sales platforms.
Although the creation of an NFT is something accessible to many, requiring only a small initial cost, a smartphone, and a stable internet connection, several challenges lie ahead for aspiring African NFT artists, starting from the so called ‘gas fees’: the costs that trading platforms charge to mint NFTs through the Ethereum blockchain. Although Art X Lagos covered these expenses in November’s auction, the fees have increased sharply in recent months, going from under US$50 to over US$200, and are prohibitive for many emerging artists in Africa. Restrictions in countries such as Nigeria on formal crypto trading, further complicate the process.
Nevertheless, we are seeing more and more examples of African digital artists gaining global success through NFTs, such as Osinachi who in October 2021 became the first Nigerian artist to sell an NFT series at Christies. Another example is Jepchumba, a pioneer of the continent’s digital art scene and founder of African Digital Art, a space for digital artists and enthusiasts to showcase their creativity, seek inspiration and connect with other artists. Jepchumba has been listed by Forbes as one of the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa 2021 for her efforts promoting African talent in the digital media industry.
Despite the fact that, as any other asset class rapidly gaining popularity, there lies a risk that the bubble behind NFTs might burst, However, through NFTs, crypto artists are helping to drive the decolonization of the art market. NFTs give African artists the opportunity to take even greater control of their work and Africa’s narrative, as well as creating wealth and promoting a more inclusive type of art.
