Crypto collectibles and art, colloquially known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) could unlock the future of the sector and help Bahraini art gain a wider global audience, according to National Arts Council chairman Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
This comes as it was announced that Bahrain will be hosting the first-ever NFT Middle East Expo 2022 from March 16 to 19, with more details to be announced during a Press Conference today.
Art minted into blockchain-based tokens has taken off online, attracting users with its huge financial returns and promise of authenticated artworks.
“This is a very important avenue for art that the world is following right now, and I believe it could be massive,” Shaikh Rashid told the GDN. “Of course, it’s a new technology and many of us are not aware of how exactly it works. I think we should remain open-minded.”
For the uninitiated, NFTs are unique computer-generated codes that are embedded into assets, like art pieces, enabling them to be traded and verified for authenticity.
NFTs are built on the same technology as the popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, but are each unique and cannot be replaced with something else – while one bitcoin can be exchanged for another, one NFT cannot be exchanged for another.
NFTs can, however, be sold on one of several open online marketplaces. Most operate on the Ethereum blockchain, which stores extra information on these NFTs that make them operate differently from other blockchain-based currencies.
NFTs can be anything digital – including art, music or a piece of software – but a lot of the current excitement is around using the technology to sell digital art.
Artists can list a single copy of their artwork, called a one-for-one colloquially, or more than one copy – called two-for-two, three-for-three and so on.
“It is the ‘Wild West’ right now, and different artists are experimenting with varied contracts – the most common of which is the royalty clause, which gives artists a portion of the proceeds from every time an art piece is subsequently sold,” said Dar Alfann co-founder Abdulrahman Almokla, who has helped his wife, digital artist Leena Al Ayoobi, promote herself in the NFT space.
Exciting
“It’s quite exciting, but at the same time, daunting, because of the complexity – we have spent a year just learning everything we can about it!”
Mrs Al Ayoobi’s art can be found on Opensea and Foundation, with plans in progress to list on Known Origin, Makers Place and PRISM marketplace, alongside internationally-renowned artists like George Benson.
Mrs Al Ayoobi and Mr Almokla are working with Shaikh Rashid and the National Arts Council to organise the NFT Middle East 2022, Bahrain’s first-ever physical NFT exhibition in March.
The purpose of the exhibition, in addition to showing forms of art that can then be bought and owned digitally, is to educate people about NFTs and how artists and art collectors can enter the space.
Bahraini toymaker Abdulla BinHindi was one of the first creatives in Bahrain to embed NFTs into his popular toys, inspired by his childhood and the kingdom’s culture, like the famous Karak Monster.
Mr BinHindi also recently released a new ‘phygital’ highlighting Bahrain’s ancient history.
Gilgamesh the Immortal is a physical toy, with a digital NFT that is currently being bid on, on Rarible and the winning bidder for the one-of-a-kind piece will also receive a 30cm model of the figure.
Gilgamesh the Immortal is also on display at the Bahrain Pavilion at Expo 2020 in Dubai.
“I’m interested in the concept of the ‘phygital’ – where physical meets digital,” Mr BinHindi added. “For example, my initial NFTs also entitled the buyer to a physical Karak Monster toy.
“For my upcoming NFT releases, I want to reward those who were part of the initial base of my fans, and are still holding their NFTs.
“I have also noticed that the market seems to prefer digital artwork and there wasn’t much awareness about what karak even is, in the global market, because of how US, UK and Asia-centric the buyers currently are.
“When we are competing on the global scale, we have to make our work globally relevant. But what I have learned from my adventures is that the sooner you dive into this world, the sooner you will develop an understanding about the subject. And it’s important to listen to the right sources, and ignore the noise.”
naman@gulfweekly.com
&uuid=(email))