Elise Swopes, a Brooklyn-based photographer and graphic designer, is using non-fungible tokens for a noble cause. A report highlighted her story, noting that she uses funds from her NFT sales to support women of color in the nascent industry. Her work, which represents animations and cityscapes she photographs, has seen her net over $200,000 over the past 10 months.
According to the report, Swopes’ first sale came in March, where she got $17,600 after selling a piece dubbed Where Focus Goes, Energy Flows on leading marketplace SuperRare. Per Swopes, this sale presented a life-changing opportunity.
Her first collection on Nifty Gateway saw her combine her photographs of New York, Portland, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, and Denver, with giraffes and other jungle elements. She dubbed this collection Displaced: Giraffe in the City by Swopes and donated part of the proceeds to the Somali Giraffe Project.
Helping women of color
As her work continues selling in secondary markets, she earns a royalty of 10% to 15%. While most of this money goes to settling bills and paying her managers, she is devoted to donating funds to organizations and buying NFTs from other artists.
For instance, she has collected NFTs from photographer Brittany Pierre and visual artist Lana Denina, among others. She showcases her collection in a digital gallery that she created in CryptoVoxels. She also has a soft spot for the Black NFT Art collective, which supports black artists in the NFT space.
She pointed out that,
When I make a sale, I make sure that I’m giving back to the community that’s giving back as well because there’s a cycle [of support].
However, she noted that her NFT journey has been difficult because black people, and especially women are not well represented in the industry. According to her, white men have an advantage over other people in the space because they continue making more sales. On the other hand, women have barely made any sales this year.
Advocating for women rights in the NFT space is hard
While Swopes tries to speak about the inequality in the NFT space, she claims it is a daunting task, seeing as she does not get support from everybody.
She added that,
They find it uncomfortable to be uncomfortable and hold themselves accountable with wealth distribution, especially with how much money a lot of these people have made. So, I find myself having a lot of responsibility as not just a woman, but a woman of color in this community, who understands perspective and can put myself in different people’s shoes.
Swopes further noted many people in the NFT space lack awareness and instead make jokes or comments that are alarming. To this end, she urged people to continue investing in her artwork because she is trying to make a difference.
