Most people became aware of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) last year when Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5,000 Days sold for $69.3 million sale at Christie’s in New York. Though blockchain technology and web3 were becoming better known, for most, it was still unclear what impact NFTs would have on the global art scene.
This was the case too in Nigeria where most people’s knowledge of NFTs had come from Prince Jacon Osinachi—regarded as the first artist who popularized crypto art or art on the blockchain in Nigeria.
In 2018, he joined Rare Art Lab, a platform that educated him on how to navigate art on the blockchain and with that he began to use Microsoft word as his medium. His story has gone on to inspire several Nigerian artists and he is the first African to be featured at the Christie’s NFT auction. In March 2021, he sold art worth $75,000 in ten days followed by selling his piece, Becoming Sochukwuma for $80,000 on SuperRare. His success has built visibility for the Nigerian NFT scene.
The NFT scene in Nigeria is the largest in Africa’s art on the blockchain ecosystem due to the magnitude of its creator base. Though it is still in its infancy stages it has amassed a lot of success within a short span; with major players like Anthony Azekwoh and Prince Jacon Osinachi making huge sales of 5.5ETH or $25.4k and 22ETH or $83.2k respectively for their The Red Man and The Future is Female arts on SuperRare.
But the scene’s exceptional talent is what keeps it afloat, with several artists experimenting on different art disciplines and forms of arts including abstract figurations, sculpture, photography, and others.
Despite the space being in its early days with several challenges including a crypto ban and a small collector base, there are signs of promise.
Navigating the Nigerian NFT scene
“I’ve always wanted to be an artist but there wasn’t a way for me to make a living out of it considering how saturated the traditional art market is,” says…