A new NFT market place for African artists launches in Johannesburg

The platform aims at telling authentic African stories through art, design and fashion to the world through this increasingly popular digital platform that uses blockchain technology.

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

It is a Thursday morning. I am walking along the busiest street in Norwood, Grant Avenue in the middle of the middle class suburb east of Johannesburg. The suburb is undergoing a revolution of its own, having lost its upper middle class status, steadily over the years. Its former wealthier residents have since moved out, to be slowly replaced by lower middle class residents over the years. It has truly changed its demographics over the years, I a complete way.

Where there used to be designer shops aimed at the upper middle class that used to live and shop on this colourful street, there is now a mix of businesses ranging from Chinese, Indian, Bangladesh, Portuguese, African restaurants Greek pizza outlets to general dealer shops, alongside other businesses run mainly by Africans from the rest of the African continent. This is a complete revolution the subur has undergone in the past 20 years or so.

Soon I found myself in a cottage-like centre known as The Factory, which within itself, contains a number of eateries and coffee shops. It looks quite funky, I concluded as I made my way up the stairs of the main building, leaving these scattered restaurants and coffee shops below. The stairs eventually lead me to a room up upstairs. Here I am met with a number of screens between six and five of them on my right, and another bigger one facing me.

The screens on my right are flashing interesting art works that seem give each other a chance to enchant us with their beauty, as they give each other a chance to suck us in into  their intimate spaces.

 I also notice that these art works that range from paintings, drawings, photography to video works are by artists, some well known names, others still to be in the public domain. They will soon be as I got to know later.

I am here to witness another revolution, very different from the one that good old Norwood has undergone in the past 20 years. This one is a digital revolution that will see art and technology interact and create possibilities for artists, audiences and art business. And it will happen here in Africa as the continent catches up with the developed world that is fast becoming digital, especially when it comes to how business is conducted these days.

And as I look again on the right screens, my eyes get focused on one image on the screen. It is a photograph of a black African woman, captured replete with an exuberance of confidence and pride in her posture. She is stylishly dressed. She is adorning a huge red head wrap gear, a green and goldish cloth, beautifully wrapping her body from the waist down. She is wearing sun glasses in a way that seems to cheekily suggest that I am here, deal with me. In the background there is parked an old rustic looking VW beetle car. This is certainly a photograph that portrays this woman in a positive way. It is a picture that seeks to demonstrate her grace. It is taken by internationally reputed South African photographer Trevor Stuurman.

Stuurman and two other business partners are at the forefront of a digital revolution in art. They have created a market place for African art through their platform called The Tree, which will take advantage of block chain technology to sell African art through NFT (Non Fungible Token), the new rage in the digital space that has taken the world by storm as it  uses the block chain technology to market people’s inventions throughout the world, including art in a digital format that cannot be faked.

Not only that, the partners have added another technology  featureto the platform, and that is Virtual Reality,(VR)  that allows those shopping for anything from art, fashion, design, music  to photography to visit the platform, almost in the same way one would visit a gallery in a physical sense. I tested it and I had a 360 degree view of the gallery of art works on display. The experience is magical.

Welcome to the launch of The Tree, Africa’s newest digital market place dedicate to everything to do with art in its broadest sense, a revolution of a different kind.

And the founders are optimistic that artists and buyers will benefit immensely from the platform and there are reasons for this. 

Africa’s wealth lies in its abundance of stories and the diversely colourful way in which story tellers deliver their narratives. Enter The Tree, an online marketplace for African art, design and fashion that is harnessing the potential of NFTs to propel artists into an increasingly digital world. 

 Having kept a sharp eye on the fast pace of global developments in blockchain technology, the trio of founders – Dean Pozniak, Dan Portal and Stuurman – recognised that with their diverse professional experiences, they could join forces to create something exceptional in the NFT art space. 

“We bring together contemporary African art, design and NFT technology in an accessible and creative way, so that people can engage with blockchain art and invest in a future thinking movement that we believe is growing exponentially and will become an integral part of modern life,” says  Pozniak.

For the launch, The Tree, has introduced a selection of artists and their work to the platform: African Ginger, Fhatuwani Mukheli, Jana Hamman, Koooooos and Trevor Stuurman. 

In time, the offering will bring value to all of The Tree’s NFT holders through their utilities and applications, the founders believe.

“This is where it gets even more exciting,” says Portal, “because  apart from owning a unique piece of art, members of The Tree will also be able to make the most of our network of lifestyle brands and services. They will have exclusive access to events, exhibitions, activations and private workshops.” 

“What makes the initiative that much more attractive is that The Tree will generate awareness around block chain sustainability. We have partnered with Greenpop and for every transaction that has to do with The Tree NFTs, a minimum of five trees will be planted. So every transaction on The Tree plants trees!” explains Portal. 

“The Tree is uniquely positioned to take the lead in a new industry that is yet to enjoy mainstream adoption, so we are ready to take on the job of driving awareness and showing people how easy the tech is to use. Our virtual art exhibitions and mixed reality experiences will really demonstrate the power of NFT technology and the potential it holds for the future of creative expression”, says Trevor Stuurman. 

 The time to showcase the depth and breadth of African art, design and fashion is now, he concludes, “and what better way to realign the true value of what originates from Africa than through the vehicle of such groundbreaking technology.”

How to sell your art

All you need to do is to go onto the platform and there, there is an application that will lead you  that will get you in contact with the team behind The Tree and in a few days after the checks and balances by the curators, once your art piece is approved, it is up and running and clients can buy it from there from anywhere in the world.

“When I was approached to participate by making my work available on the platform, I jumped onto the opportunity without hesitation because I know that the digital world is the future as your work is accessible to a global market in a way that has never existed before. The process is transparent and the block chain technology authenticates ownership in a seamless way,” said visual artist Fhatuwani at the launch.