Arts DAO launches debut NFT with ME’s first NFT artist Kristel Bechara

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Arts DAO, the largest Web3 and NFT community in the Middle East, has partnered with the region’s first NFT artist, the award-winning Kristel Bechara, to create its debut NFT drop, The Ethernal Gates.

Launched on June 5, the community’s NFT collection features 2,000 NFTs and prices started from 0.49 ETH (USD 1,000).

Purchasing an Ethernal Gate NFT serves as a membership to Arts DAO, which is led by a committee of NFT experts, who curate and invest in a diversified portfolio of NFTs, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and RTFKT Studios’ Clone X collection.

The community’s aim is to achieve appreciation in value on behalf of DAO members, while also offering grants to Web3 founders who show high potential, with members rewarded with quarterly returns when NFTs are bought and then sold.

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Other benefits of an Arts DAO membership include access to start-up NFT accelerator programmes, automatic eligibility for whitelist spots in new upcoming projects which guarantees a cheaper mint price than one offered to the public, and access to the most exclusive NFT events in the Middle East, which give members the chance to meet NFT collectors, builders and artists.

Recent events include a yacht event with holders of RTFKT Studios NFTs, entrepreneur Gary Vee and the Doodles Community.

Arts DAO members will also have the right to vote on matters, including which creators and artists DAO aims to launch, as well as the community’s social activity. Anas Bhurtun, Co-Founder and CEO, Arts DAO said: “The UAE is home to one of the strongest and biggest NFT communities in the world, thanks to Dubai positioning itself as a crypto hub and attracting a lot of young, like-minded people who are passionate about Web3.

“Our aim at Arts DAO is to become the largest NFT collector in the Middle East and launching the Ethernal Gates NFTs will give investors an opportunity to expand their portfolio, as well as giving Arts DAO the opportunity to collect and fund NFT projects in the region. “One of the biggest hurdles in the NFT space, is being able to keep track of all the projects that are dropped each day, from launch dates to the teams behind them, as finding all the information on their discord and website is a rather challenging process.

“Arts DAO members will be part of a collective treasury which will deploy Ethereum on behalf of members into a portfolio of blue chip and emerging NFT collections, as well as backing passionate founders building in the NFT space across art, gaming, collectibles and the metaverse space.”

The Ethernal Gates collection is a set of generative art pieces, meaning that the art is composed of a number of artistic traits which are randomly assembled together, making each piece of art totally different and unique.

  Kristel Bechara, Middle East’s first NFT artist.

The collection has been created by Kristel Bechara, Dubai based award-winning artist, who is famous for her signature blend of vibrant colours and images which become an embodiment of the perfect bridge between fine and digital art.

Bechara’s work has gained industry recognition and has labelled her a pioneer of NFT art in the Middle East with her signature work, a 1/1 NFT piece titled Satoshi Nakamoto, selling in 2021 on Foundation for 1.10 ETH ($2,812), and today valued at 35 ETH ($89,515).

Bechara said: “This project is incredibly special to me, as it is my first generative NFT art series which I am glad to be collaborating with Arts DAO on.  “Regarding the series itself, each artwork will feature many different gates, props and backgrounds in completely randomised order that will be generated after the NFT is minted. “The gates are my recreations of iconic gates and doorways from fiction and history, while the props in black and white are inspired by the vivid terminology used in the crypto world.

“It is amazing how even though we have a sophisticated system producing these art pieces, they still capture my visual style and essence perfectly.” Born in Lebanon and based in Dubai, Bechara is a contemporary artist who has established herself as the rising star of the Middle Eastern art world. Recognised for her dynamic patterns and expressive colours, her artwork consists of the revolutionary creation of photographic imagery using oil, acrylic and giclee printmaking mediums, to depict complex emotions and also portray the human condition.

Her artistic process involves creating stencil-like drawings that are combined with modern mixed media lines to form multi-layered fantasy paintings.

Her work has been displayed around the world, in galleries in Tokyo, Milano, Brussels, and France. She has received acclaim in UAE, notably winning the UAE Resident Artist Award at the 2018 World Art Dubai for her collection, Beauty in Diversity. She is now gaining recognition as a pioneer of NFT art in the Middle East, having been one of the first artists in the region to adopt NFT technology to launch her new series, Beauty in DeFi.

Inspired by the world of cryptocurrencies, this series of digital paintings has featured in publications across the globe. A wife and mother of two, Bechara is an avid traveller who finds inspiration in exploring cities, art museums and galleries.  She dedicates her mornings to creating art in her studio in Dubai, while her afternoons and evenings are spent with her family. Her gallery is located at Gate Avenue, Dubai International Financial Centre.