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GeckoCon 2022 – The Decentralized Future – was held on 14 to 15 July, and aimed to bring participants up to speed on how Web3 will empower the decentralized future.
The event was graced by some of the biggest names in the Web3 space – from exchanges and venture capitals, to GameFi projects and NFT artists – with Tezos as a silver sponsor.
The panel discussions helmed by thought leaders and innovators from across the blockchain sphere were chock full of insights and information on how Web3 will impact the future of the Creative Economy, Finance, Governance, Business and more.
TZ APAC’s Head of Marketing, Jivan Tulsiani, moderated the panel “Asian Artists in the World of NFTs” with artist Bjorn Calleja, Teia Community representative and artist MuMu, as well as Sweaty Labs Co-founder Sarisa Kojima.
Read on to delve into insights on all things art and NFTs from these highly-regarded artists in the Tezos ecosystem.
Bjorn Calleja is a visual artist who hails from Manila, Philippines. He shared that he is mostly a painter, but dabbles in sculpting, installations, as well as animations which he mints as NFTs.
Sarisa Kojima is a multidisciplinary artist who is of Thai and Japanese descent. She is also the co-founder of SweatyNFT, an all-in-one, no-code NFT toolset for artists.
Munira Humzah, AKA MuMu, is a Malaysian visual artist and poet who creates pixel art and animation. She told the panel that she dabbles in a lot of various art forms, but most people in the NFT world would know her for her pixel art.
MuMu: I initially started minting my art on Ethereum in February 2021, but as we all know, the carbon footprint and energy usage is very high, and that’s when I started looking into alternatives.
I got invited into a Discord group on clean NFTs, and an artist there was minting on Tezos, which caught my interest, and so I made the shift to Tezos too.
Bjorn: I started minting on Hic et Nunc (HEN) in March 2020, and I was introduced by a good friend James, who’s also the one who introduced me to crypto in 2017.
When I started minting, it was on an account called Tezos PH which features Filipino artists. I later learnt about the complexities that might come up when minting with several artists, so I created my own wallet and minted my own work.
Sarisa: I was already trading crypto, but I didn’t realize we were able to mint NFTs on Tezos until I was invited by my partner in August 2021.
Even though I wasn’t an artist at that time, I had studied art previously, and I started creating my own illustrations to mint on Tezos. Since Tezos had affordable gas fees, it allowed me to experiment with my art style.
Bjorn: Art has been my profession for almost half my life, and I don’t know anything that I can do better than making art. Art for me is experiencing the world, and sharing my experiences with the world.
Everyday, I gather information by existing and I use that information and experience as tools for me to create art. Art is very crucial for survival – not just personal survival – but also for the survival of a nation, community or culture. It records the triumphs and downfalls of humanity.
My inspiration for making art comes from my childhood where I was born and raised – the city of Manilla – and every layer of my personality that I can represent through art.
Sarisa: I started painting when I was a little kid, and it was just another world for me. I kept doing it because it comforted me and allowed me to express my imagination. I’ve since felt that art is beyond appearance or visuals, but it is something that you have to use your other senses to figure out.
My inspiration for my art is my life and culture. Like Bjorn, most artists have so many inspirations in life – the meaning and philosophies behind it, and artists express that through their freations.
MuMu: Art is self-expression, and it’s anything which you find beauty in, that relates and connects with you in some way. It doesn’t have to be visual – music, spoken word and film-making is art too. It can be anything as long as there is an emotion that you can experience from it.
Anything can inspire me, and the work of other artists is one of them. When I started minting NFTs and connecting with other artists, I got to learn about other disciplines of art that I was never exposed to before.
Mumu: NFTs to an outsider seems like easy money, but it’s actually really hard. First, we have to go through a lot of learning just to understand minting and blockchain technology. There’s a lot of technicalities that we need to learn, and just in that sense, it’s good to have a community.
In terms of Web3, we’re building something that we collectively own, so having a good community where we can all create something that we’re proud of is important.
Sarisa: We are at the period where people are just starting to know about NFTs, so community is one of the important drivers of the space. If I did not happen to know about NFTs on Tezos from others in the community, I would not be part of this space today.
“So it became my goal to empower other artists as I believe it will help grow the ecosystem. This is becoming our central vision and what we are trying to solve. This is why we created @sweatynft - to reach out to others, support artists and achieve goals together.” pic.twitter.com/IfeIYpxo5a
— TZ APAC (@TzApac) April 1, 2022
This is something really new and needs a lot of onboarding resources. I’m really glad because I started telling the Thai community about NFTs, and now we have come together to create a community which is expanding everyday. I believe it’s really important to spread knowledge about NFTs, Web3 and DeFi, and make everyone stronger together. This is how the ecosystem grows.
Bjorn: The Filipino communities here are being supported with grants from TZ APAC, and it’s important that we educate not just about the blockchain and NFTs, but also how to start creating and being creators.
This group of Filipino artists use spoken word as their medium, and are also venturing into visual art and are starting a movement to educate the younger generation. The community shapes the roots from the ground up, like what happened with Teia. It was built by the community.
Bjorn: The first would be to manage your expectations. I never really expected anything from my art, but I still try to give it my best, and I feel 100% gratitude and appreciation if I get rewarded.
From growing up without significant exposure to arts, to having his work featured in one of the world’s leading art fairs. @BjornCalleja is a true inspiration for the #NFTPhilippines Community.
— TZ APAC (@TzApac) May 20, 2022
Uncover his story in the first #StarsofTZAPAC ABHK Special feature. pic.twitter.com/NFyu7tMqpM
Next is something I live by – the grander the intention, the stronger the foundation. As artists, we are doing something bigger than ourselves all the time. If you have deeper intentions than making a big profit, you will continue to push and create even if we’re in the bear market.
Lastly, I heard this piece of advice from an artist sharing about art as a career in the Philippines. He said that art should not be considered a career, as if you consider it a career, you’re setting yourself up for either success or failure. But consider it as a practice, since it’s something we do everyday.
Sarisa: Before jumping into DeFi and NFTs, you first need to be aware of your financial situation and only jump into it if you’re ready, since it’s high risk.
Next, know about the different platforms out there and prepare yourself for advancement. I took so long to reconnect with digital art, and only did so after reaching out to communities and learning from them.
MuMu: You have to do a lot of research when getting into NFTs, and it can be overwhelming but it’s important. Start by researching the basics – what a blockchain is, how it works, and what are NFTs. It might be too technical, but you have to understand it before you start out.
Next, understand what your purpose or ethos is. Why are you getting into NFTs? Is it just because of the hype or money, or are you exploring the technology? You need to know this before making other decisions like what type of art to produce, and what platforms to mint on.
Lastly, connect with other artists and developers because this is all new. We are all still early in the game and everyone needs each other.
