What Is the Metaverse’s Art Vision? Two Prominent Crypto-Artists Outline Their Visions

<p>Sydney Xiong works for the APENFT Foundation, and Ben Nolan is the founder of Cryptovoxels, an art-focused online universe.</p> <p>Whether you're new to the metaverse or already have an enviable NFT collection, the question of what the IRL art world's role in the metaverse will look like in the coming years is on many art lovers' minds. Though the wild world of NFTs can make it difficult to know where to look, some significant players are already shaping that future.</p> <p>Among them are Sydney Xiong, the director of the APENFT Foundation, which brings art and finance together in the metaverse, and Ben Nolan, the founder of Cryptovoxels, a virtual world powered by the Ethereum blockchain that hosts a variety of art, music, and cultural events. Earlier this year, APENFT hosted the open-call NFT exhibition "Second Lives" on Cryptovoxels, which featured big-name NFT artists like Beeple, Fewocious, and Pak alongside rising talents. The works were auctioned off on LiveArt, and APENFT's Art Dream Fund distributed $100,000 to 13 of the emerging artists chosen for the call.</p> <p>We recently spoke with both Xiong and Nolan about the mainstreaming of NFTs and what they find most exciting about art in the metaverse.</p> <p>Earlier this year, the APENFT Foundation launched "Second Life," an open call exhibition of NFTs at the APENFT ART MUSEUM in Cryptovoxels. Can you tell me more about this exhibition, particularly the theme?</p> <p>Sydney: All of the artists in the exhibition are linked by their use of digital media to explore regions of alternative realities in the metaverse. The theme of the open call, "Second Life," was inspired by a game that allows people to create an avatar for themselves and live a second life in an online virtual world. The artists we chose for the exhibition displayed a variety of creative visions inspired by the concept of a second life. Some are visions of a space-age future, others are biological, and still others are more playful. I was struck by the innovative and energising ideas