NFTs in M’sia this week: Even kids want in too, as 13 Y/O from Pahang sells dragon art

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve highlighted movement in the digital and NFT art scene in Penang where NFT art galleries and live minting sessions facilitated by public figures have taken place.

This week, the spotlight’s on women and children. 

Pahang teen selling dragon NFTs

We’ve found a 13-year-old Pahangite minting his digital artworks of dragon NFTs on Pentas.io. His project is called CryptoNaga, and he hopes to one day build a CryptoNaga game.

Initially, we thought that the concept of NFTs would be too complex for children to grasp. That assumption was debunked after reporting about an NFT school in Kelantan, and a developing play-to-earn (P2E) game targeted at kids.

Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK) Sungai Rual in Kelantan which calls itself “School of NFT”, aims to foster young creative talents through digital art and NFT classes.

Meanwhile, the P2E game by Centre Of Digital Assets Malaysia (CODAM) plans to educate Malaysian schoolkids about cryptocurrencies, blockchain tech, and digital asset management. The programme intends to open up students to future career opportunities in blockchain tech and digital assets.

Behind CryptoNaga is Nur Iman Lee, better known by his username, Razor. His artworks contain a few series of dragons in varying art styles. Scroll through his Pentas.io profile and you’ll find that he’s already sold at least a handful of NFTs.

The 13-year-old has also hosted a giveaway for his CryptoNaga holders in the form of a T-shirt, depicting—you’ve guessed it—a dragon.

Just like how social media users and new tech adopters are getting younger by the day, it’s not too shocking to discover those who’d find NFTs or the metaverse appealing are Web 3.0 natives.

As they’re “born into it”, these kids are exposed to the tech at a very young age, whether it be NFT slangs, concepts, and blockchain tech. It’s then on the adults with expertise to guide and coach them to use the tech smartly, and for good.

Breaking biases

Being a lurker in the NFT scene, I’ve observed that the industry is more often than not dominated by men, barring viral names such as Red Hong Yi. While I don’t have an opinion or working hypothesis about why that is, perhaps other female artists in the NFT space do.

In line with International Women’s Day, a group exhibition with eight female digital artists was held at Kedai KL, presented by Digital Art Gallery (DAG). The on-site and virtual showcase was called Break The Bias, featuring a series of digital artworks and visual projections highlighting a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.

Artworks at the show were also available as NFTs, giving the artists a way to showcase their art to a larger audience.

The exhibition featured young female artists including Arda Baha, Grey Z, LakarUmbi, Jem Kosmos, Nabihah Haiyee, Oli, Jasma Jamaludin, and Pamela Tan. They’ve been active in the digital art scene for a while now, coming from backgrounds such as graphic design, illustration, and other multidisciplinary arts.

Based on the artists who spoke to The Star, curating art in the NFT space provides them more freedom to take full creative ownership of their art. It’s certainly valuable to artists, especially those who earn an income creating commissioned pieces for their clients as full-time jobs. 

Without going into social commentary, it appears that NFTs, in general, are a genuine space for artists to express their individualities, explore new art styles, and exhibit them to a global audience.

Featured Image Credit: LakarUmbi / Pamela Tan / OLI / CryptoNaga