Umba Daima makes $140,000 in under a year supporting artists
Iris Nevins originally planned to create an online store for artists to sell their work, along with her co-founder, Omar Desire. But when she learned about NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, in 2020, she decided the technology would be a “much more profound way to help artists.”
“We thought that we could do more, have a bigger impact, and generate more revenue for the artists, for ourselves, [with NFTs] than trying to sell prints and paintings online,” Nevins said.
In general, NFTs are digital assets often bought and sold with cryptocurrency. They have been gaining popularity, becoming a hit with celebrities, athletes, entertainers, and others.
In February 2021, Nevins and her team launched NFT studio Umba Daima, which promotes artists and educates people about Web3. Among its many offerings, the Umba Daima team manages and consults with artists, earning a percentage of their sales, and helps build online communities for marketplaces.
Umba Daima also launched several sub-brands, which it oversees. The first was Black NFT Art, followed quickly by the NFT Roundtable podcast and virtual exhibit The Unseen Gallery.
“We noticed that the artists that were having a lot of success had these really strong communities around them that were promoting or reposting on social media or participating in their drops,” Nevins says. The studio launched Black NFT Art “in an attempt to create that kind of experience for Black artists.”
Nevins is grateful for the support she has received from those well-connected with the NFT business as a Black woman founder. She is looking forward to a time when the NFT marketplace becomes more diverse, equitable, and open to a greater number of Black artists.
Moving forward, Nevins is elated that some Black-owned NFT platforms such as “The Well and Disrupt Art,” are gaining growth this year. She’s also bullish about more film, music, and dance NFTs in the space.
“I think most people’s association with NFTs is CryptoPunks. They haven’t sat down and looked at what regular artists are creating.” “We want to be able to help all of the artists that we collaborate with get their flowers and grow through that process,” Nevins said.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/Evyy8M53lO0
- https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/14/iris-nevins-launched-business-umba-daima-to-uplift-black-nft-artists.html
- https://www.blackenterprise.com/how-this-29-year-old-made-140000-in-less-than-a-year-by-supporting-black-nft-artists/
- https://www.unseen.one/crossroads-exhibit/artworks/black-nft-art-rise-token
- https://us-east-2.console.aws.amazon.com/polly/home/SynthesizeSpeech