Virtual galleries are expanded forms of traditional art galleries that move beyond the geographical and physical limitations of a brick and mortar building. Virtual galleries most often exist in web-based virtual reality where a 3-dimensional space can be entered, and where the art presented by the gallery can be viewed or experienced. Virtual galleries can be social places where visitors from various physical locations can meet together in the VR space and interact. Virtual galleries can be used to share artwork, introduce artists, make sales and offer unique experiences to audiences.
A metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. There are many metaverse platforms already available where visitors can meet each other (in avatar form) and explore. In futurism and science fiction, the metaverse is a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality and augmented reality headsets.
Art Gate VR is a virtual reality platform and social metaverse art district, specifically established for galleries, collectors and art institutions. Art Gate VR hosts many interconnected galleries including Floating Point. The galleries are used for artists and dealers to exhibit, explore and acquire new collected works. Art Gate VR is available as a (free) download for both PC and Mac users and can be explored in 3d from a computer. It is also available for most major VR Headsets and can be downloaded via Sidequest.
Cryptovoxels is a metaverse built on the Ethereum blockchain. This virtual world consists of real-life infrastructure like roads, buildings, and landscapes. Users can own land parcels & build structures on this land. Land parcels and structure can also be resold to other users. Users can meet and interact via text or voice chat. Digital objects can be connected in Cryptovoxel directly to the NFT sales platform Open Sea, enabling a straightforward commercial structure for buying and selling. Cryptovoxel avatars are fully customizable, meaning that you can outfit your avatar in custom unique digital wearables.
Usually transacted as NFTs, digital wearables are pieces of virtual clothing or digital accessories like dresses, shirts, jeans, sunglasses, or bags that you can use to dress up your avatar in a virtual world. Collecting digital wearables offers the opportunity to have very unique looks for your personal avatar. Many high end brands are creating digital items that can be collected and traded.
An NFT is a “non-fungible token” – a digital asset that proves and embodies ownership rights to digital or physical objects, such as works of art, music, video, or even real estate. Tokens are minted onto the blockchain, and this guarantees that each one remains unique. NFT technology virtually excludes the possibility that an object might be counterfeited. The token is stored in the owner’s crypto wallet. In the context of art, an NFT consists of a smart contract on the blockchain, the metadata, and the media, i.e. the actual image, video, etc. The media is most frequently kept in a decentralised storage outside the blockchain and linked through the metadata to the token, but within certain limitations the media can also be stored on the blockchain.
A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the given blockchain. There are many different blockchain networks, and each is connected with various Cryptocurrencies.
Metadata is data that provides information about other data. In the case of an NFT, it describes that NFT’s essential properties, including its name, description, content, and anything else its creator feels is important. This can include details about a digital artwork, and details about what a collector will receive upon purchase. The meta data will also indicate any conditions that the creator designates for an NFT.
Ethereum is the blockchain used by metaverse Cryptovoxels, which recently announced an evolution of form to proof-of-stake. Read more about it here.
Early NFT enthusiasts used ERC-721 because it was the first popularized non-fungible token standard under Ethereum. However, Ethereum’s community found ways to improve ERC-721 and widen its capabilities.
ERC1155, short for “Ethereum Request for Comments 1155”, is a token standard mainly used for NFTs (non-fungible tokens). With NFTs increasing in popularity for collectors, and more artists wanting to create NFTs, it’s beneficial to have a token standard such as the ERC1155 to regulate these tokens. ERC1155 has emerged as the latest NFT standard promising interesting improvements to the operating system.
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