Photo Courtesy of Brian Yip ’24
Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are a recent addition to the artistic side of the virtual world; however, NFTs still remain far removed from physical society. These digital images and videos that can sell for millions of dollars are possible because of cryptocurrency transactions recorded on unfathomably large databases called blockchains. Though NFTs themselves aren’t tangible possessions, Brian Yip ’24 is using them to benefit people in a very palpable way through his charitable initiative, 1000 Suns.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Yip was inspired to start his organization by Mother’s Choice, a local charity that he has volunteered at since 2019 that serves children without families and pregnant teenagers. At Mother’s Choice, Yip plays with and looks after children at their child care home. Kindled by his experience taking care of his ten god-siblings, Yip has always loved interacting with children. “I just know how to play with them and take care of them,” he said.
Having found volunteering for Mother’s Choice so fulfilling, Yip wanted to help support the children there and did so through one of his main passions, digital art. His organization’s name, 1000 Suns, stems from an experience he had on his first day at the organization. “I was very nervous, but then when I went and sat there, there was this girl who came up to me and just sat on my lap. She looked up and she smiled, and I relate the warmth of that smile back to 1000 suns,” Yip described.
Yip collaborated with four young artists to create four series of NFTs, which he sold in an exhibition at an art gallery, SHOUT Contemporary, in Hong Kong from August 20-28. Yip raised over $27,000 for Mother’s Choice through selling NFTs. In addition, Yip was interviewed by South China Morning Post, a prominent Hong Kong-based newspaper, about the event.
Yip began planning the logistics of the exhibition on his own at the beginning of this summer and worked with local youth artists Alysha Lai, Ashley Kan, John Chan, and Zachary Cheng on the art pieces. To facilitate the NFTs’s transactions, he had to create 80 cryptocurrency wallets. Yip’s experience with trading NFTs as a hobby helped him execute this highly technical affair.
The art pieces in this collection were inspired by the children Yip had gotten to know while working at Mother’s Choice. He chose to depict nine children whose personalities stood out to him the most. Yip created the first series of the four, “The Little Ones”, where the children are depicted through different animals that represent their personalities. This narrative continues into the second series, “Their Aspirations,” by Kan. Each child’s animal is drawn as a different professional, such as a vet, police officer, or artist, based on their interests. “During my childhood, people always loved to ask me what I wanted to do, so I wanted to ask those kids what they wanted to be when they grew up,” Yip stated. Some of the children were too young to speak, so Yip observed the toys they played with and their personalities to predict their aspirations.
The culminating art piece was named after Yip’s initiative and shows three of the children from “The Little Ones” — the bunny, panda, and turtle — looking into a horizon of 1,000 suns. The animals in the first two series are drawn with a reflection of the sun in their eyes to convey that the children supported by Mother’s Choice are looking into the radiant future that awaits them.
Yip plans to do more collaborations with artists to organize fundraisers for foundations in Hong Kong whenever he is back at home during breaks. He intends to focus on organizations centered around helping children and animals. While on campus, Yip shares his artistic talents with the Choate community through his graphics for The Choate News, Choate Public Health, and GirlTech Magazine. To expand 1000 Suns, Yip continues to explore digital art and the ways in which he can give back to his community using the NFT platform.
