VCA’s Metaverse Digest: Six Things You Missed?
Friday 4th Feb 2022
Welcome to VerticalCrypto Art’s Metaverse Digest - your weekly resource for the latest in NFTs, Crypto Art and metaverse culture news!
It’s been yet another busy and prosperous week for the Crypto Art community (question: when is it ever not busy and/or prosperous?!). Creativity is pouring from all directions as friends and residents welcome innovations in metaverse spaces, Twitter Space symposiums and IRL displays. We are ecstatic with everything that is happening right now!
With that said, let’s not waste any time. What has been happening in the community this week?
Discussing Art NFTs — ‘The Blockchain as a Medium’
On Tuesday, Micol and co-hosts Anika Meier and Jesse Damiani presented another episode from the ongoing ‘Discussing Art NFTs’ Twitter Space series. This week, we discussed the topic: ‘The Blockchain as a Medium’.
Featuring iconic artists from the Crypto Art community, speakers Kevin Abosch, Sarah Friend, Sarah Meyohas, Mitchell F Chan, Rhea Myers, Simon Denny and Harm van den Dorpel were asked about entry points to the Crypto Art ecosystem, where the blockchain lies within the creative process and early adoptions of the blockchain as a medium. This signalled interesting responses, with artists describing the blockchain as a studio, performance space and laboratory for experimentation.
With over 1400 listeners tuning in, this edition of ‘Discussing Art NFTs’ was one of the most attended yet. Listen to the recording of the full conversation here.
The VerticalCrypto Art Residency new home on Twitter!
We are delighted to announce that the VerticalCrypto Art Residency is now on Twitter! Celebrating our first birthday here, we will soon start to post weekly snippets from the Residency highlighting new resident artists and their progress throughout the programme.
Be sure to follow us @vcaresidency and turn on notifications for access to ALL of the education resources and the latest in Web3, Crypto Art and Metaverse culture from the VerticalCrypto Art Residency which began in July, 2021.
Versum Introduces: Versum Boards!
On Wednesday, Versum introduced BOARDS — a list / gallery of tokens and they can be either private or public. Public boards can be followed by anyone, while private boards are only visible to you.
Public boards, which can be created and followed by anyone, allow users to curate a list or gallery of tokens which contribute to their personalised feed. Private boards allow users to organise collections, create wish lists and highlight hidden items.
Since their launch, the community has been creating & curating boards on all sort of different themes. Some of our favourites:
- The Genesis Minters by Bors : a curated selection of the first artworks minted on Versum.
- mono dream storm by Xochi : a monochromatic collection of abstract artworks.
- Code → Colour → Form by Paul Prudence : a board which showcases the combination algorythmic arts made with code, colour and the essence of form.
Explore all the boards & create your own here.
M○C△ (Museum of Crypto Art) Launches M○C△ ROOMS
On Saturday, M○C△ (Museum of Crypto Art) announced their newest innovation within the metaverse: M○C△ ROOMS.
Welcoming two interrelated museum NFTs, M○C△ ROOMS is an interoperable 3D canvas for architecture to thrive in virtual worlds. Combining slots with spaces for NFTs, M○C△ ROOMs is an architectural blueprint allowing for sustainably, equitably, and the ability to purchase and construct personalised Metaverse exhibition rooms for NFTs.
M○C△ ROOMS consist of ROOM and FLOOR. ROOM is a slot which allows for anything between 1–140 NFTs to be presented in its space, acting as a toolkit for growth alongside other metaverse engines. FLOOR are blueprint NFTs that attribute slot numbers, being obtained only from 24 hour auctions — such as the first experienced on Wednesday here.
We are so excited for what M○C△ ROOMS could mean for the future of museum NFTs and metaverse spaces. Read up on the full M○C△ ROOMS project here.
NFT Liverpool open for Artist Applications!
On Saturday, Crypto Art collector Mondoir announced that the much-anticipated NFT Liverpool event is now open for applications!
Showcasing art for 130 days, NFT Liverpool welcomes 1500+ works of Crypto Art from around the world. Twenty curators will be selected by the Gallery’s owner, Amir Soleymani. Each curator’s collection will be on display for 5 days to highlight the work of their favourite artists.
Mondoir, VerticalCrypto Art and the team and cohort of curators behind NFT Liverpool invite creators to submit works via Twitter feeds using the #nftliverpool hashtag and another descriptor tag of their choice. This exhibition will begin April 26th at the Adelia Art Gallery, Liverpool.
We recommend that artists who are applying to carefully follow Mondoir’s instructions on submitting artworks. Learn more about this via Twitter and over on NFT Liverpool’s website.
Verisart x Artsy’s “22 for 2022” — Artist Conversation on Twitter Spaces
On Wednesday, Verisart and Artsy hosted a Twitter Spaces symposium promoting the ongoing ‘22 for 2022’ exhibition — the inaugural auction for emerging and established crypto artists.
Providing a chance to learn about exhibited works, this symposium discussed what NFTs meant to artists, their entries to the ecosystem and where things might be headed next in their practice and larger Crypto Art community. Co-hosted with Robert Norton (CEO of Verisart), speakers ranged from emerging artists — such as Mark Wallinger — to long-time creators such as Pindar Van Arman.
Out of the 22 creators selected for the auction, VerticalCrypto Art resident Linda Dounia was chosen to exhibit her AI piece: ‘Dust is hard to breathe’. We are so proud of Linda for her outstanding achievement here, and we are delighted for her involvement in this iconic exhibition!
‘22 for 2022’ is live until next Tuesday, February 8th with bids starting at 1 ETH. Read more about this exciting event in the official press release and auction, and catch our late interview with Linda Dounia here.
In Conclusion
That is all for this week, folks! As mentioned at the start, there is a lot happening in the Crypto Art community right now. VerticalCrypto Art is always grateful towards our vibrant space for its wonderful exhibition opportunities, symposiums and innovations across NFTs, Web3 and metaverse culture.
We cannot wait for what comes next — rest assured, we will keep you informed with the latest happenings as they arrive. See you next time!
