While NFTs present artists and creators with immense opportunities to directly monetize their work and build loyal followings, there are plenty of people leveraging marketing acumen to concentrate the growing attention on their projects.
Sometimes the project is genuine, other times, it is to capitalize on a rapidly growing market. Do your own research is a hot topic in crypto and NFTs because of rugged (failed) projects, scams, and a lot of greed in the space.
It’s rare to find an artist who is committed to a project and its holders for decades and beyond. However, the artists who have stuck to their craft over the course of their careers are best positioned to weather the ups and downs of the market because it has been historically difficult to sustain a career as an artist.
Uzay is a great example of an artist with grit, who has never given up on his passion.
He’s 37 years old but has been creating art for over 30 years even when it wasn’t the most lucrative opportunity.
His first interest in art started when he was around 3 or 4 years old because his mother, father, and uncle were very talented sketch artists. They chose different careers for economic reasons, but Uzay was determined to make a career out of art.
By the time he was 12 years old, he insisted on studying art in secondary school. His parents were hesitant about the decision because he told me that “art has never been as accepted in Turkey as in Europe or in the United States. They’re more critical about it in Turkey.”
Despite their initial hesitation, his parents have fully supported Uzay throughout his entire career.
He ultimately went on to receive a BA in Education at Hacettepe University where he studied animation, painting and later received a Masters's degree in Cultural Studies.
