TIMEPieces Names 12-Year-Old NFT Creator Nyla Hayes Its First Artist in Residence
And the children shall lead. TIMEPieces announced on Thursday, Oct. 21, that Nyla Hayes will be its first artist in residence. Hayes is the 12-year-old NFT artist behind the successful Long Neckie collection.
“Since launching Long Neckie Ladies, Nyla has inspired many individuals within the NFT community and established herself as a leader amongst the next generation of emerging artists,” TIME president Keith A. Grossman said in a statement. “We are thrilled to announce her as our first Artist-in-Residence for TIMEPieces and are excited to see how she applies her talent to our brand.”
Hayes’ theme for her TIMEPieces collection is set to be announced on Nov. 11. Her art will be unveiled days later on Nov. 16 via time.com/timepieces, with minting beginning the following day.
TIMEPieces is TIME magazine’s recently launched NFT community initiative. The program aims to give budding artists the essentials to advance their careers via NFTs. TIMEPieces will announce a new artist in residence each quarter, who’ll develop a collection as well as contribute to its Build a Better Future drop.
In the latest issue of TIME for Kids, Hayes shared how she got into art and NFTs. As the 12-year-old tells it, she first began drawing when she was just 4, and her foray into digital art began at age 9, when her parents gave her a smartphone.
“This past March, my uncle told my mom about NFTs,” the tween told the publication. “We watched YouTube to learn how to create and sell them. Soon, people were buying NFTs of my Long Neckies.”
Her collection features colorful renderings of diverse women with long, graceful necks. According to her profile on NFT marketplace OpenSea, the inspiration for the collection came from her love of dinosaurs, and one genus in particular.
“I fell in love with the Brontosaurus, which I lovingly referred to as ‘long neckie,'” her profile reads. “Their beautiful long neck mixed with their sheer size, gentle nature and bravery left a lasting impression on me. That impression inspired me to create my Long Neckie Collection.”
The resulting project, which features 50 NFTs, currently has an impressive floor price of 2 ETH (about $8,100). Even more impressive is how much she’s earned. The young artist told TIME for Kids, “I have made more than 960 ETH.” In U.S. currency, that translates to an astounding $3.9 million at press time.
Added Hayes: “Being part of the NFT community is amazing!”
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Photo courtesy of TIMEPieces.