Kristel Bechara became the first Arab female artist to launch an NFT tokenized art series in the UAE and the Middle East. Image from source
The hype surrounding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has become hard to ignore. NFT collectibles—essentially digital assets with a certificate of authenticity and ownership stored on a blockchain—have grown in popularity over the past year, with everyone from musicians to billionaires getting in on the latest crypto craze. According to industry tracker DappRadar, NFTs generated more than $1.5 billion in sales in the first quarter of 2021.
In March, billionaire Jack Dorsey’s first-ever tweet fetched $2.9 million in an NFT sale, which he donated to charity back. That same month, a piece of digital art called "Everydays: The First 5,000 Days" by the artist known as Beeple, real name Mike Winkelmann, sold for $69.3 million at a Christie's auction.
“One important lesson that we have to learn from history is that we can’t fight the mainstream of advancing technology,” says artist Samer El Sayary, researcher and Assistant Professor of Architecture at the Beirut Arab University in Lebanon. “They [NFTs] are easier to store, transfer and trade from seller to buyer in seconds.”
NFTs have become a new medium for artists in a digital world, but has the multi-million-dollar hype reached the Middle East art market?
