Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are becoming huge in the art world. In the first half of 2021 alone, NFT sales have surged to $2.5 billion in value. This new technology bridges the gap between the physical and digital worlds by providing a solution that preserves the authenticity and ownership of art in the digital space.
More and more artists are entering the digital marketplace to sell tokenized versions of their creative work. NFT artwork is built on the Ethereum blockchain. The value of Ethereum is constantly rising, and so the value of NFT artwork is equally climbing.
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By joining the NFT world, artists not only gain access to the global market and worldwide reach, but also guarantee the ownership and appropriate returns for future resale of their work.ย
Joining the NFT craze might be trickier than it seems at the first glance, requiring resources and knowledge which is not readily available to every artist. In this way it has been put forward that the current format of the NFT space is potentially unfriendly for artists.ย
By only concentrating on technology and infrastructure, do the needs of users, and particularly artists, go unnoticed?
The Challenge of Approaching the NFT World
The process of converting artwork into an NFT involves multiple steps. Artists need to find a preferred platform, upload their collectible(s), create and connect a digital wallet to start a bid, pay a gas fee, and mint the NFT. Finally, the creator must decide on the royalties they wish to receive on the secondary market.
During an exclusive interview with DailyCoin, Etan Genini, co-founder of ValuArt, a new NFT art platform, recognizes that these steps could represent mission impossible to any artist who, for example, specializes in painting, and rarely interacts with technology in an advanced capacity.ย
According to Genini, the technical aspect of minting the NFT itself is not the only challenge faced. To be successful with NFT art, an artist must also be familiar with how the market functions. It is crucial to find the best way to represent oneself and to be understood by the market.ย
He pondered:
"What happens if the market doesn't understand you? Maybe your value is ten thousand euros per canvas. Fifty thousand euros per artwork. But what happens if your NFT doesn't get a grip on the market? Imagine, is it something good or bad for you?"ย
A Personalized Approach to NFT
Being on the pulse of the art industry and understanding the current challenges that the art world faces in entering the NFT ecosystem, ValuArt invites people to take a more personalized, curated approach to NFTs.
Despite being a new player in the NFT ecosystem, ValuArt brings a unique vision for NFT art. Genini calls it the "ValuArt method."ย
Currently, the platform is free for artists to join.ย
Everything begins with the onboarding process for selected artists, collectors, foundations, and brands. Through joint brainstorming and artistic production, a compelling storyline and cutting-edge content is developed around each piece, which Genini explained:ย
"We try to work on pieces like a huge story. We need to represent a story to emotion the people and in digital - people are not there, and you have to be catchy to pitch them a story that eventually they will buy."
Ultimately, seeking to increase the value of both the artwork and NFT, ValuArt facilitates the introduction of high-end artistic crossovers, collaborative projects and fresh works of art.ย
The company provides artists with the necessary professionals to develop animations, computer-generated imagery (CGI), and a personal visual identity that stands out and makes the artist unique to the market.ย
Genini highlights that, for ValuArt, the marketplace is just the tip of the iceberg and the last phase of an extensive creative process.
"What we like to do is tell the story the artist wanted to tell with that piece of art. So it's essential to leverage every little detail they thought of when creating the concept of the piece. It's not just about putting something online and trying to sell it."
A personalized approach is not only helpful in providing the necessary support during an NFTโs creation phase, but also in providing more value to the work of artists.ย
Genini underlines that it is not easy to represent and preserve the value of art in the digital space. NFT platforms can often be intimidating and overwhelming, a place where a unique piece of art is thrown into a bubbling pool of other NFTs. Should this happen, it could simply lose its value and intended audience.
That’s why ValuArt stresses the importance of finding a unique voice for every NFT artist, in order to help them find the right audience for a given piece of art.ย ย
A Digital Slice of Creative History
NFTs are here to stay and it is beyond doubt that they have revolutionized how art is made, collected, and stored. Valuart aims to not only help aspiring artists, but to also facilitate the digitization of some of the most famous artwork in the world. This digital rebirth would breathe new life into a classic medium and give NFT collectors a chance to acquire a piece of creative history.ย
ValuArt has already demonstrated their creativity with their first drop and auction of “Spike,” based on the iconic Banksy installation that first surfaced in Palestine.ย
The artwork blended the voice of tenor singer Vittorio Grigรฒlo, and video art with Banksy’s art resulting in a new form of expression in the digital space. The NFT drop was sold, and the profit was dedicated to supporting those suffering as a result of conflict throughout the world.
Following the success of “Spike,” ValuArt plans to launch ‘Mantum and the Stole.’ Pope John Paul II first wore this unique artwork, by Stefano Zanella, to mark the opening of the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica. The piece will be reinterpreted using computer-generated imagery (CGI).
Moving Towards an Artist Friendly NFT World
ValuArt’s fresh and artist-friendly attitude towards NFT originates in the company’s story. The co-founders of ValuArt come from diverse backgrounds, from crypto investors to world-renowned tenors.ย
Embracing new technologies in art and combining their distinct spheres nurtures creative solutions and opens new doors for artists and collectors alike. ValuArt shows ambition in attempting to facilitate the process on both sides of the coin to build a better future for the digital art world.ย
"People are accepting the art, are accepting the fact that NFTs are changing everything, we should activate the network.ย What ValuArt is now - it is a lab of creativity that is at the service if you are an artist and you need to go into the NFT market because you understand that it's going to be your next big thing to do,"
beamed the co-founder of ValuArt, showing clear optimism for the future.ย
On The Flipside
- ValuArt is a new player in the NFT space. It faces the same challenges as other NFT projects.ย
- There are many big players and platforms in the NFT space, such as OpenSea, Rarible, and SuperRare. Even if ValuArt has different values than the other NFT behemoths, the company will have to fight for recognition.
- Having a carefully crafted, high-end approach to NFTs makes it more challenging to grow a user base and scale a project.
- To both attract the artists and collectors who will be the right fit for the platform, and media attention to boost its recognition will require swathes of resources which could prove challenging for the still-emerging company.