While Visithra Manikam experienced discrimination in Malaysia’s art scene, she felt warmly welcomed in the NFT community. There she made some friends, and quickly built her collector base. It wasn’t long before a buyer came knocking, anonymously at first, to inquire about her art. He asked about Manikam’s unminted stash, from which he bought three.

Manikam’s buyer was none other than rap star and avid NFT collector Snoop Dogg. Today, her works have been bought by more than 270 collectors around the world. In the wake of her big sale, Manikam also accomplished a couple of firsts: The first Malaysian artist to be featured in the world’s first physical NFT museum, the Seattle NFT Museum; the first Malaysian artist whose works have been featured on the iconic New York Time Square billboard by NFT NYC, the biggest NFT conference, where she was also the first Malaysian artist invited to speak.

Despite criticisms that her art is “too Indian”, Manikam continues to draw from her ethnic heritage to produce pieces that are highly regarded overseas and within the digital space. Her artwork celebrating dark skinned women is the same one featured on the Times Square billboard.

She has also become an avid buyer herself, with a collection of more than 100 crypto art pieces from around the world, particularly by artists in developing countries.