View of a computer-rendered image, with an added design to a looted artwork from Nigeria, that now resides in a British museum, with project’s aim to give part of its non-fungible token (NFT) sale proceeds to fund young African artists, in this handout obtained May 23, 2022. Looty Art/Handout via REUTERSScreenshot of the design process on an image of a looted artwork from Nigeria, that now resides in a British museum, with project’s aim to give part of its non-fungible token (NFT) sale proceeds to fund young African artists, in this handout obtained May 23, 2022. Looty Art/Handout via REUTERS
View of a looted artwork from Nigeria, that now resides in a British museum, which is turned into a non-fungible token (NFT), with the project’s aim to give part of its sale proceeds to fund young African artists, in this handout image obtained May 23, 2022. Looty Art/Handout via REUTERSView of a looted artwork from Nigeria, that now resides in a British museum, which is turned into a non-fungible token (NFT), with the project’s aim to give part of its sale proceeds to fund young African artists, in this handout image obtained May 23, 2022. Looty Art/Handout via REUTERSView of a computer-rendered image of a looted artwork from Nigeria, that now resides in a British museum, which is turned into a non-fungible token (NFT), with the project’s aim to give part of its sale proceeds to fund young African artists, in this handout obtained May 23, 2022. Looty Art/Handout via REUTERS
24 May 2022 05:12PM(Updated: 24 May 2022 05:14PM) CNA
by creating 3-D images of them, selling them as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and using the proceeds to fund young African artists.
Calls for objects stolen during the colonial period to be returned to their places of origin have intensified in recent years, and Western institutions have sent items back to countries including Nigeria and Benin.
Chidi Nwaubani, the founder of Looty, described his project as an alternative form of repatriation, by which digital technologies are used to reclaim a measure of control and ownership over artifacts still held far from Africa.
“Imagine a world where these items were never looted,” Nwaubani told Reuters in an interview. “We’re just trying to reimagine that world and bring that world into the digital form.”
The process begins with what Nwaubani called a “digital art heist”, a perfectly legal procedure in which a Looty team member goes to a museum and scans a target object using technology that can be used to create a 3-D image.
An NFT of the image is created and put up for sale via the Looty website, which also acts as an online gallery where anyone can view the images for free. Nwaubani said 20 per cent of the proceeds of NFT sales would go towards grants for African artists aged 25 or under.
NFTs are a type of digital asset that allows anyone to verify who owns them.
The website launched on May 13 and although there were no immediate sales, Nwaubani has received messages of interest from around the world.
Looty’s first NFTs are based on an image of one of the Benin Bronzes that were looted by British troops in 1897 from what is now Nigeria and are held in the British Museum in London.
“Knowing that it’s Nigerian but it lives outside of Nigeria has always troubled me. So I felt that there’s something that we could do to change that,” said Nwaubani.
Looty’s next big project is focused on an Ancient Egyptian item, Nwaubani said, declining to give further details.
The name Looty refers to the act of looting and is also a playful homage to the dog Looty, which was found by a British captain after troops looted the Summer Palace near Beijing in 1860, taken back to London and presented to Queen Victoria.
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC. I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters. I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism. In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
In October 2011 Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi published my book "Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống).
In December 2013 Phu Nu Publishing House published my book "10 Core Values for Success".
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
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