African Digital Media Company Set to Hold NFT Auction Featuring Artwork by Kenyan Filmmaker Rich Allela

A Kenya-based digital media company, Picha Images, is reportedly set to hold one of the first non-fungible token (NFT) auctions in Africa. The auction event, which is set to be held between April 26 through May 3, 2021, will initially feature the works of Rich Allela, the award-winning photographer and filmmaker from Kenya.

Perpetual Royalties

According to a report, in return for purchasing the NFTs, the buyers will get a “hacker-resistant proof of ownership of a digital piece of art.” Inversely, the NFTs give artists, who have been getting “a raw deal,” a chance to earn more.

Meanwhile, in its own statement, Picha Images claims the creation of NFTs shows that the company is “placing the wellbeing of their creative artists first by exposing them to a way to secure their work, maintain the copyrights to their creations and earn royalties in perpetuity.”

NFTs Empower Artists

On the other hand, Allela is quoted commending Picha Images, which harnesses artificial intelligence and big data, for making it possible for artists like himself to earn more from their works. Allela, whose works are famously described as Afro-renaissance, also said:

By launching The Rich Allela’s Afro-renaissance collection on NFT, Picha Images aims to empower artists to maintain the copyright of their work and earn from secondary sales. Through this auction, the public will place their bids where the highest bidder will walk away with a piece of digital art and send a message to the world on the value of art as an investment worth making.

In the meantime, the report states that Opensea, a non-fungible token digital marketplace, will host “the NFT auction and artwork.”

Do you agree that NFTs help artists earn money from their works? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.