Digital asset company Invictus Capital has become the latest local company to unveil a non-fungible token (NFT) collection, developed through its Invictus NFT Lab, which combines fine art with blockchain technology.
The Cape Town-headquartered company manages over $200 million of investor assets, with offices in Geneva, Switzerland, and presence in Germany, France, Latin America, Turkey and Grand Cayman.
The newly-launched NFT Lab has introduced the online Out of Africa Collection, which includes over 100 unique NFTs built on the Ethereum blockchain, backed by (and redeemable for) real-world, physical artworks across a range of artistic mediums from some of Southern Africa’s top contemporary fine artists.
An NFT is a secure digital file which validates ownership, and is stored on the blockchain system, where each NFT can represent a unique digital item, and thus is not inter-changeable.
NFTs can represent digital files, such as art, audio, video, items in video games and other forms of assets in the physical world. While the item itself can be copied, the NFT that includes certification of ownership cannot be duplicated.
“The Out of Africa Collection represents the first time many of our artists have worked in the NFT space. This collection is a triumph for these artists and represents some of the finest new, upcoming and established talent,” says Marelize van Zyl, curator for the Out of Africa NFT Collection.
Non-fungible tokens have become popular in the local and global industries, with expensive items such as real estate, digital artwork and music being "tokenised" and sold online at exorbitant prices.
The global pandemic has been especially challenging for creatives worldwide, with fine artists particularly hard hit by gallery closures, curtailed travel and cancelled exhibitions, notes the company.
“This inaugural collection is a first of its kind for Southern African artists and global investors,” says Daniel Schwartzkopff, CEO of Invictus Capital.
“The Out of Africa project kicks off in January, with the distribution of the NFT posters to interested parties, and will culminate in an auction in February for NFT representations of the original, physical artworks. These NFTs act like a certificate of ownership and the holder can opt to have the original artwork delivered.”
Prospective investors interested in the project can subscribe to the newsletter to receive updates on participating artists and artworks, as well as concrete dates for each project phase.
Adds Blake Anthony, founder of KNEXT Art Gallery: “Digital artists are increasingly embracing the fast-growing NFT collector market. The NFT space is disrupting the fine art industry's business model and our artists are seeing the long-term value of their creations.
“For collectors, NFTs make it possible to cut out significant middleman costs that can make investing in art otherwise unpalatable.”
Invictus Capital says it encourages anyone hungry to learn more about the project to check out the technical details in the Litepaper, and track the project’s progress via Twitter (@ic_invictus).
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