Imagine you want to showcase your art. Normally, you would have to rent a physical space; a gallery, a pop-up space, etc. But what if you could create an entire digital gallery and make it look exactly like you want? If you could invite people from all over the world, showcase your pieces dynamically, and even sell NFTs directly to your visitors? This is all now possible thanks to metaverse art galleries.
What is the Metaverse, and How Can Art Join In
The development of the metaverse, a digital world where virtual and reality meet, is pushing the boundaries of art, gaming, and even commerce. As we see new platforms emerge, the doors are opening to countless new experiences using augmented, virtual, and mixed reality technologies.
It’s no surprise, then, that digital art creators have joined in and are exploring new ways to exhibit their work. What’s even more exciting, users are also finding how to experience artistic expression in a truly immersive manner. Digital 3D worlds offer so many advantages and opportunities that the metaverse is redefining even what it means to be an artist. Let’s see some fascinating examples.
Successful Metaverse Art Exhibitions
If you are looking for inspiration for your digital art gallery, there are a few excellent examples of successful shows in the metaverse. Let’s take a look at our favorite ones.
LaTurbo Avedon’s “Progress Will be Saved”
LaTurbo Avedon is a designer and an avatar that likes to explore the relationship between virtual environments and users. Avedon created an art exhibition called “Your Progress Wil be Saved” using the gaming platform Fortnite Creative. In it, users can enter a psychedelic and surrealistic technicolor realm that changes and shifts and includes dance floors, rooms, and booths.
Animal Crossing Home Art Galleries
During the pandemic, many artists that enjoyed the game Animal Crossing: New Horizons created makeshift galleries to showcase their virtual homes through the Nintendo Switch. Many turned photographs and art into pixelated images and hung them on the walls, inciting others to explore their “gallery”.
Cassie McQuater’s Google Earth Landscapes
Although not what we would consider a metaverse (even though it, technically, is one), Cassie McQuater used Google Earth to create dreamy landscapes. The artist used Keyhole Markup Language to turn the planet into a brightly-hued experience that involves abstract forms and encourages user participation.
What Does the Metaverse Mean for Art?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many museums and galleries had to shut down, and most events, small and large, were canceled. Performers were then pushed into moving their activities into the digital world, using streaming services and conference technology to showcase their work and exchange new ideas. In some cases, they even tried their luck with 3D venues.
Virtual exhibition software, for instance, has been proven particularly helpful for people eager to make this shift, and we have seen the emergence of many new companies organizing virtual and hybrid events.
We are now entering the next stage of our online existence; the metaverse, a virtual world (or many virtual worlds, sometimes interconnected) where users can build and import digital goods. If the earlier digital environments of the last few years exhibited physical artworks that had been scanned and digitized, what we are now observing is a rise in digitally native artwork. Artwork that is created, exhibited, and sold online.
We find ourselves encountering a fascinating junction. On the one hand, VR (virtual reality), AR (augmented reality), and MR (mixed reality) technologies are paving the way for truly immersive experiences. Plus, our connection speed and processing power are also helping more users share virtual experiences without much issue. On the other, NFTs have created the ideal platform to share digital art in a way that can effectively prove authenticity and provenance and prevent fraud. What's the result of this fantastic crossroads? A never-seen-before shift in how we interact with and consume art. And we are just getting started!
Using NFTs in Metaverse Art Galleries
Although they have had somewhat of a rocky start (the last few months have been particularly tough, as cryptocurrencies plummeted), auction houses have embraced the idea of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). For example, world-renowned British auction house Christie's conducted digital art transactions on OpenSea, the world's largest marketplace for NFTs minted on the Ethereum blockchain. Despite the challenges, it seems the path for non-fungible tokens is more or less decided. They are here to stay.
Before NFTs, there really wasn't a way to assign value to purely digital works of art - at least not without significant room for doubt. Thanks to blockchain technology, we can now trace the provenance and check the authenticity of any piece all in a quick and secure manner. If art is recorded in the ledger, art fraud as we know it is no longer a concern.
Being able to own digital art adds to the appeal of doing art in the metaverse. After all, they are the ideal platform to view, share, and trade them. Many NFT collectors already showcase their art on cyber-galleries or in their blockchain states (for example, in Decentraland, a 3D virtual world). Some NFT artists have also sold their creations for millions of dollars. In December 2021, Pak's "The Merge" was acquired by a total of 28,983 buyers (collective buyers) for $91.8 million. Anonymous artist Pak said the purpose of the project was to attract new collectors. It seems to have worked!
What it Means to be an Artist in the Metaverse
As the art world expands and spins, converging virtual and physical experiences and slowly shaping what will undoubtedly soon become the metaverse, the term "artist" is changing.
The metaverse is creating new ways to express creativity and experiment with innovative mediums. In a way, developers, content creators, and engineers are becoming metaverse artists, too. NFTs have made art more global. You don’t need a big budget or a wealthy patron to create digital art; you just need the technical knowledge and a small investment to get your art on the blockchain.
There are many advantages to using NFTs in the metaverse. For one, you can provide authentication and tracing, essentially eliminating the issue of potential forgery. Now, if creating a piece is easy, promoting your work (and your brand) can be tricky. So what are the best ways in which you can showcase your digital art? Let’s look at some good options.
Creating a Metaverse Art Gallery
Running a virtual art exhibition can provide you with the perfect chance to show your work. There are several benefits to creating a digital or metaverse art gallery. These include:
- Cost: You don’t need to worry about renting an expensive physical space that is well-connected and has enough capacity to accommodate your guests. Metaverse art galleries can host hundreds, if not thousands of visitors without issue. Of course, you will probably have to pay for digital space (it depends on the platform, but there is usually a cost for servers and data storage), but the final invoice will be significantly lower than for a brick-and-mortar art exhibition.
- Convenience: When you host your art online, anyone can visit your gallery no matter where they live. All they need is an internet connection. You can also sell your artwork more easily and get it delivered to the purchaser in seconds.
- Innovative venues: A metaverse art gallery is not just (potentially) massive. It can also look like anything you imagine. You don’t have the typical physical constraints. Want to have an art exhibition on the moon? Or under the ocean? If you can picture it (and you work with the right team of experts), you can make it happen. So your art is not just a wall of scans or photographs. It can actually be an immersive experience like no other.
- More storage and formats: With a metaverse or digital art exhibition, it's not just space that is of no concern (you can have as many personalized rooms as you). You can also store as much art as you want and offer it in different formats. For example, you can have images, videos, and sound - and not have to worry about carrying heavy equipment around. If you sell a piece, just pick a new one, and it'll be up on the wall instantly.
Using Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR) for Your Digital Art Exhibition
With Cerebrum Progressus (formerly PandaMR) metaverse development services you can create exhibition, galleries, conference halls, and offices to display your interactive artwork. For example, you can showcase your NFTs or digital art in a museum-inspired large venue and have users click on them to be redirected to a marketplace where they can purchase them
There is no better place to show your digital art than a 3D virtual gallery. Get started today and begin showcasing and selling your digital art in the metaverse in minutes.