The old Victoria’s Secret space in Denver Pavilions in Denver, Colorado, has been turned into the ‘Verse’, a metaverse art gallery.
Verse is an augmented reality exhibit of holograms and NFTs that requires the use of holo lenses to see the art.
Ray Kallmeyer, CEO of metaverse/NFT startup Enku, created Verse, which debuted on Thursday, April 7. He believes Verse would allow the curious to enter a completely new world that let them enjoy a futuristic experience.
When visitors put on the VR goggles, the empty rooms that were formerly filled with mannequins come to life with over 70 holograms created by over fifty local and national artists.
Kallmeyer intended to involve as many local artists as possible for Verse, and the first room is home to Android Jones, one of Denver’s most prominent digital art innovators. He designed two holograms for the exhibition: a ballet dancer and a masculine figure pounding the ground.
Each room has a different theme, Kallmeyer says, noting that the Solar Punk room “is about building a better future. Every project here has a positive impact: projects that support Ukraine, projects that support women in crypto, projects that support climate change, and projects that support mental-health nonprofits.”
There are jellyfish jumping around in one corner, stars flashing around an embracing couple, and a “Avatree” tree that grows before your eyes. When you look at one point on the ground, you’ll find yourself standing above a vast galaxy with a floating asteroid.
All of the artworks can be purchased. In the case of “Avatree,” each sale of that NFT benefits by adding trees to reduce the carbon footprint that follows cryptocurrency.
The gallery setting “makes it great for the NFT skeptics and NFT curious, because it puts it in a context that’s familiar,” Kallmeyer adds, noting that there will be physical art in the space as well as performance art that happens both physically in the Verse gallery and in the metaverse seen through the holo lenses.
For more information, visit https://versenftcryptoart.com/denver.