Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site in South Africa recently raised $130,000 through the sale of a non-fungible token. The NFT was created from a 1962 arrest warrant against Nelson Mandela.
Funding Museum Activities with Proceeds from the NFT Sale
According to a report, a non-fungible token (NFT), which was created from Nelson Mandela’s warrant for arrest, was recently sold at auction for $130,000 (1.9 Million rands). These proceeds will be used to finance Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site which documents South Africa’s struggle for freedom and democracy.
A Bloomberg report states that Liliesleaf Museum and Heritage Site received the original document as a gift in 2004. After Mandela was accused of conspiring against overthrowing the government, South Africa’s minority rulers issued the warrant in 1962.
Liliesleaf Museum Heritage site, which has held the document for almost 18 years now, is raising funds again using an NFT that depicts an object associated with South Africa’s freedom fighters. The heritage site previously raised about $50,000 when it sold an NFT of a pengun that belonged to Oliver Tambo, a South African freedom fighter. Momint, a South African NFT marketplace, handled both auctions.
The pivot to NFTs
Ahren Posthumus (CEO of Momint), comments on the NFT auction. He is quoted in the report as explaining why museums are turning to NFTs. He stated:
Museums sites remain afloat. Covid has caused severe damage to their infrastructure. This is a way for them to revive their flow and preserve history.
Black Rock Rhino, a conservancy, has used NFTs to to pay some of its day-to-day expenses. After a study, it was found that more South Africans were interested in NFTs or buying them.
