Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — Life-sized murals, quirky installations and every colour on the canvas: before the COVID-19 pandemic closed art and performing spaces in March 2020, the art festivals and galleries of the Malaysian cities of Kuala Lumpur and George Town provided a lifeline, and inspiration, to the country’s artists. But with the disruption of the past 20 months, many have struggled to survive as full-time, “physical” artists, and have been forced to move out of their comfort zones. Some have ventured into the newly emerging world of non-fungible tokens (NFT) and cryptocurrency. NFTs are unique digital assets designed to represent ownership of a virtual item: unlike Bitcoin and other…