KUALA LUMPUR – Following her international success as an NFT creator, Visithra Manikam has added more feathers to her cap by becoming the first Malaysian visual artist to have her art splashed on three of Times Square’s iconic billboards in New York City.
This is also in conjunction with her being the only Malaysian invited to speak last month at the biggest NFT conference to date – NFT.NYC.
From June 20 to 23, conference organisers took over the vertical One Times Square billboard, where the city also holds its annual New Year’s Eve ball drop.
Her art was picked to be featured out of 1,500 applications.
At the same time, her art was showcased on two more billboards as part of an exhibition curated from Snoop Dogg’s Medici collection. The rapper, known as Cozomo de Medici in the NFT circle, has been one of her most famous collectors.
“It has been overwhelming to see my art being featured in the art capital of the world as the global NFT community descends on New York.
“I only knew I had been selected for the Medici collection billboard when I landed in the city. This exhibition is one of the most important ones in the NFT community and has been my dream since last year. I am so honoured and grateful to be chosen among some of the most iconic NFT artists in the world,” she told The Vibes.
She also said being the first Malaysian visual artist to be featured on one of Times Square’s billboards with her name shows that NFTs are such a turning point for the art industry.
“My artwork featured on the NFT.NYC billboard celebrates dark-skinned women. The art piece is named Chikara, meaning strength, and symbolises the strength and power we have within us to soar and achieve our dreams.
“In Malaysia, we hardly appear on billboards, fashion magazines, and runways. I hope this art will show that dark-skinned women are beautiful and strong, and their value does not lie in the opinion of a biased society.”
The conference brought together creators, brands, developers, entrepreneurs, gamers, artists, investors, collectors, and enthusiasts.
“I’m really honoured to be selected to speak about my art journey at NFT.NYC. As an artist from Malaysia, I believe NFTs have created global opportunities previously out of reach for many in Asia.
“This is an opportunity very few artists in Asia, let alone Malaysia, will experience.
“It is an honour for Malaysia to have an artist represented on the biggest global stage for NFTs.”
According to the conference website, some 30% of the speakers are from 46 countries while the rest were from the United States, and speakers were chosen based on their “thought leadership and passion for NFTs”.
It was hosted across seven venues in New York City, including the Radio City Music Hall, Palladium Times Square and New York Marriott Marquis, where Visithra spoke.
In conjunction with the conference, her art was also exhibited at the Sugoi Global NFT conference by Julian Gilliam, and Stratosphere by Sabet – one of the leading NFT artists – which was sponsored by Spatialx and Samsung at the tech giant’s flagship location in New York.
This month, her art was exhibited at the world’s first NFT museum held in Seattle; NFT Liverpool in Gallery Adelia, the United Kingdom; and at the Utopian Dystopia festival in Cochin, India.
Visithra had ventured into NFTs during the 2020 lockdown, which took off for her internationally.
Prior to NFTs, she said she struggled to receive recognition in Malaysia, claiming she was told that her art “wasn’t good enough, it was too Indian”.
She is currently a verified artist on OpenSea, the biggest international NFT platform. – The Vibes, July 27, 2022
