Nelson Mandela's
"My Robben Island",
an NFT edition drop
9 March 2022
On 9 March for just 12 hours, Bonhams and Nifty Gateway will drop an NFT edition of Nelson Mandela's iconic My Robben Island drawings, inspired by his 18-year incarceration on the island.
Offered through Nifty Gateway, these exclusive NFTs are the first to be minted of Mandela’s own artwork and are to be sold at $699 each or $3,495 for the full set of six, with the size of the edition being determined by the popular demand.
The drop:
9 March 2022
12 noon - 12 midnight GMT
7am – 7pm EST
4am – 4pm PST
"Robben Island is a place where courage endured in the face of endless hardship, a place where people kept on believing when it seemed their dreams were hopeless."
- Nelson Mandela, The Motivation
Nelson Mandela
Mandela stepped down from his groundbreaking presidency of South Africa on 16 June 1999. Following his retirement, he turned to making art as a therapeutic activity and created a series of wax pastel sketches that depicted his imprisonment on Robben Island.
His sketches consist of graphic lines filled with dazzling colour, imbuing Mandela’s memories of his imprisonment with deep emotional and symbolic meaning.
The NFT Edition
The NFT edition set of My Robben Island consists of five colour images and one text titled The Motivation. Those who buy the five images will automatically have The Motivation dropped in their wallet post-sale, completing the full set of six NFTs. All works bear the signature of Nelson Mandela.
Bonhams and Nifty Gateway are partnering with Makaziwe Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s eldest daughter, to present this NFT edition.
“NFTs are an exciting way to democratise art, and I’m delighted to share my father’s legacy in new forms.”
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