Design Anthology - Collecting in the Age of Digital NFT Art - The Era of NFT

Newly launched digital art platform The MetaArt Club connects collectors with digital artists and their NFT collectible artworks

William Furniss, Hong Kong Taxis at Night

Since its inception, digital art has always skirted the cutting edge of technology. However, the art world’s embrace of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) has caused an upheaval even in this innovative practice. NFTs use a unique electronic identifier to authenticate digital content on a blockchain, which means that digital artworks minted as NFTs are easily verified. For collectors, this means that the opacity that often shadows art purchases simply doesn’t exist when it comes to art NFTs.

Levina Li, who co-founded Hong Kong-based art consultancy art-partners, is thrilled by this massive shift. ‘I watched the Christie’s Beeple auction online and it blew my mind. It was a game changer. I thought, “Why do I not know about this market?” I wanted to be a part of this new frontier.’

Li eventually connected with leading NFT collector and entrepreneur Frank Smits, and together with Li’s business partner Sarah Pringle they founded The MetaArt Club as a platform for linking digital artists and their art NFTs to global art collectors. According to Li, transparency drives The MetaArt Club. ‘Digital art used to be very difficult to trade. Back in the day, buying digital art meant getting a USB and a screen. The art could be copied, and there was no real way to authenticate the original version,’ she explains. ‘With NFTs, you can check every single trade and transaction. You actually know the primary and secondary prices of each piece of art. I can ascertain where the artist’s career is at and what price they’re selling at, all with the click of a button!’

Unlike platforms that simply facilitate trading, The MetaArt Club also acts as a hub for artists, collectors and crypto enthusiasts by offering both community and curation. Its founders’ roots in the art world have helped them form a launch collection — under the theme A New Beginning — of almost 10,000 NFTs from 35 international artists whose styles range from Afrofuturism to surrealism.

This community atmosphere allows artists like CHANEL Next Prize 2021 winners Keiken, Nigerian artist and AfroDroids creator Owo, and concept artist John Park, whose past projects include Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Godzilla, to connect and collaborate. Li makes special mention of John Park’s collaboration with pop-surrealist artist Daniel Maltzman as a harbinger of many more exciting collaborations to come.

The MetaArt Club also capitalises on the possibilities of NFTs with premium membership tiers, blind-box NFT airdrops and an Art Miles rewards programme that allows members to redeem exclusive artwork. The pièce de résistance, however, is the MetaVerse Museum, a virtual location with several wings and galleries, including ones where collectors can display their own collections.

Since buying and minting NFTs can be an intimidating prospect, especially for those who aren’t sure how to get started, Smits has a simple suggestion. ‘Join the community,’ he says. ‘People are eager to share what they know. Then, get your feet wet. It’s all part of the journey. By doing it, you learn.’

Text / Maloy Luakian