PARTNERING WITH THE LEADING NFT MARKETPLACE, SUPERRARE,
ART X LAGOS PRESENTS "RELOADING..."
Words by The ART X Editorial Team
October 2021
THE REDLOW DISPERSION BY MDD
ART X Lagos is teaming up with SuperRare, the leading marketplace for NFT artworks to present an NFT auction titled “Reloading…” from 4-7 November at The Federal Palace in Lagos and digitally from 4-21 November via ARTXLAGOS.COM, and SuperRare.com.
As West Africa’s first international art fair, we recognise the importance of supporting the burgeoning digital art scene on the continent. Through this collaboration with SuperRare, we hope to provide a glimpse into the future of art-making and collection in Africa, whilst highlighting the enormous potential of NFTs in its creative ecosystems.
SuperRare CEO John Crain said: “We are beyond excited to partner with ART X Lagos. SuperRare and NFT artworks have been part of an international art movement since inception. This collaboration demonstrates how digital art and NFTs in particular democratize and facilitate access to both the global art market and also to the work of new and exciting artists from Africa.”
Co-curated by Osinachi – one of Africa’s hottest digital artists who recently made the news for developing his own digital-currency – alongside Maurice Chapot and Ayo Lawson, “Reloading…” is SuperRare’s first ever activation on the African continent. Together, ART X Lagos and SuperRare are engaging directly with ten digital artists and creatives across Africa, from Senegal to Rwanda, Nigeria and Morocco to South Africa.
As West Africa’s first international art fair, we recognise the importance of supporting the burgeoning digital art scene on the continent. Through this collaboration with SuperRare, we hope to provide a glimpse into the future of art-making and collection in Africa, whilst highlighting the enormous potential of NFTs in its creative ecosystems.
SuperRare CEO John Crain said: “We are beyond excited to partner with ART X Lagos. SuperRare and NFT artworks have been part of an international art movement since inception. This collaboration demonstrates how digital art and NFTs in particular democratize and facilitate access to both the global art market and also to the work of new and exciting artists from Africa.”
Co-curated by Osinachi – one of Africa’s hottest digital artists who recently made the news for developing his own digital-currency – alongside Maurice Chapot and Ayo Lawson, “Reloading…” is SuperRare’s first ever activation on the African continent. Together, ART X Lagos and SuperRare are engaging directly with ten digital artists and creatives across Africa, from Senegal to Rwanda, Nigeria and Morocco to South Africa.
WHO ARE YOU WAITING FOR? BY OSINACHIHE
Osinachi said: "Since its inception, ART X Lagos has always highlighted innovations in the African art scene. With NFTs gaining more traction and popularity it gives me great joy to see the fair taking a leadership role in highlighting this new medium in Africa and for Africans. I am excited to bring my experience to the table as Africa’s foremost NFT artist in co-curating the first-ever appearance of NFTs at the fair, and to lay a concrete groundwork for the success of African artists who are poised to explore the space."
Tokini Peterside, ART X Collective Founder & CEO said: “With the unprecedented rise of Non Fungible Tokens, the digital art market is entering a brand new era and ART X Lagos is determined to support this digital revolution, especially one that can be such an empowering tool for African artists. While art videos, GIFs, jpg. or mp4. files were almost impossible to monetise a few years ago, blockchain is now providing digital artists with an opportunity to sell their work. This paradigm shift opens up the possibility of a more decentralised and more collaborative economy, where creators can lead the way towards a more inclusive, and more diverse society.”
Tokini Peterside, ART X Collective Founder & CEO said: “With the unprecedented rise of Non Fungible Tokens, the digital art market is entering a brand new era and ART X Lagos is determined to support this digital revolution, especially one that can be such an empowering tool for African artists. While art videos, GIFs, jpg. or mp4. files were almost impossible to monetise a few years ago, blockchain is now providing digital artists with an opportunity to sell their work. This paradigm shift opens up the possibility of a more decentralised and more collaborative economy, where creators can lead the way towards a more inclusive, and more diverse society.”
The artists showing are Abdulrahman Adesola Yusuf, Idris Veitch, Linda Dounia, Mucyo Daniel Dylan (MDD), Niyi Okeowo, Nyahan Tachie-Menson, Moonsundiamond, PR$DNT HONEY, Thapelo Keetile and Youssef El Idrissi. Visitors to the ART X Lagos physical fair at The Federal Palace on Victoria Island in Lagos will be able to experience the digital artworks on sale via a multi-screen booth installation. They can then discover more about the artists, artworks and place bids in Ethereum (ETH) via the SuperRare platform.
Learn more about the 10 artists across the continent and diaspora showing in “Reloading…”
Learn more about the 10 artists across the continent and diaspora showing in “Reloading…”
NIYI OKEOWO
ROYALTY I BY NIYI OKEOWO
Niyi Okeowo is a Nigerian multidisciplinary art director and photographer based in Lagos. He has worked with numerous established brands and startups to create experiences, identities, and visuals. When he isn't working on client-related projects, he creates colourful illustrations under the moniker @hellomrcolor
MDD
LAST DANCE BY MDD
MDD is a visual artist based in Kigali, Rwanda, whose practice aims to examine the intersectionality of black identity reflecting on black culture through pre-colonial, colonial, present day and future timelines. Through his work, MDD pulls from various elements to create Afro futuristic pieces that embody history, culture, technology and humankind all in one.
IDRIS VEITCH
BUSTED, PUMPING TURTLE HEART BY IDRIS VEITCH
Kingston-based Jamaican artist and fashion designer Idris Veitch works around digital collage to create stunning portraits, carefully blending together a wide array of cultural references inspired by his travels to Japan and by his Nigerian heritage.
THAPELO KEETILE
URBAN SHAKERS BY THAPELO KEETILE
Thapelo Keetile is a South African graphic artist and illustrator based in Johannesburg. Exploring themes of fantasy and mythology relating to the human body, his work varies in styles from cartoons to patterns to realistic rendered drawings.
YOUSSEF EL IDRISSI
CURVED GLITCHARMONY 1 BY YOUSSEF EL IDRISSI
Youssef El Idrissi is a Moroccan self-taught visual artist, researcher and cultural worker, based in Casablanca. With his visual project Glitcharmony, he explores the intersection between technological errors and the human aspiration for harmony, combining the use of softwares, node-based coding, poetry, field recording, filming, and analog machines to create his signature glitch aesthetic.
NYAHAN TACHIE-MENSON
YOU MADE ME ANGRY PART 2 BY NYAHAN TACHIE-MENSON
Inspired by her love for alternate realities, Accra-based Ghanaian visual artist Nyahan Tachie-Menson immerses us in her World, “Nyahan’s World”, revealing her fantasies, dreams, nightmares and visions. Using myriads of contrasting colors and textures, Nyahan takes the viewer on a wild, psychotropic journey through her relationships, friendships, pain, sadness and intimacy.
LINDA DOUNIA
JOY BY LINDA DOUNIA
Senegalese digital artist & designer Linda Dounia carves out spaces to interrogate her communities' experiences of the modern world, and creates repositories for how they imagine futures that work for them. Strongly influenced by Dakar’s artistic scene, she recently founded Cyber Baat, a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) aimed at funding African projects on the blockchain.
PR$DNT HONEY
OSU BY PR$DNT HONEY
South-African artist Rendani Nemakhavhani aka PR$DNT HONEY creates vivid illustrations celebrating women and Blackness. In her latest project Ghetto Fabulous, she turned her stunning designs into rich and colourful fabrics to create a more immediate and impactful connexion between her art and audience.
ARCLIGHT
AFTER SHE SPOKE BY ARCLIGHT
Lagos-based Nigerian digital artist Abdulrahman Adesola Yusuf (aka Arclight) expands his practice across illustrations, doodles, collages and digital drawings. Using vibrant and contrasting colours, his works explore themes such as mindfulness, growth and self-limitation.
MOONSUNDIAMOND
I THINK IT’S BEEN AN ETERNITY BY
MMONSUNDIAMOND
Based in British Columbia, Canada, Moonsundiamond is a Zimbabwean artist exploring human emotion and our mind’s states as human beings, attempting to illustrate this through form, colour, texture, and mark making.
“Reloading…” is Presented by 7UP