South African company helps hang local art in virtual world

A guest takes pictures with a cellphone at Trevor Stuurman's art exhibition titled " A Place Called Home" in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, May 19, 2022. Picture taken May 19,2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - As South African artist Fhatuwani Mukheli paints a portrait of a woman at his Johannesburg studio, he is creating not only the work before him but also a digital asset destined to adorn a virtual world.

Mukheli uses The Tree, an online marketplace for South African artists to promote and sell their art as non-fungible tokens (NFTs).