Walk through the India Art Fair in the metaverse 

 

 

 

India Art Fair, an annual event celebrating the best of South Asia's modern and contemporary art, can now be accessed from anywhere in the world, thanks to the developments in the Web3 and metaverse space. The thirteenth edition of the art festival has marked its presence not only on the NSIC grounds in New Delhi but also in the metaverse. 

All you need to experience the thrill of the India Art Fair is an active internet connection. Having AR and VR gear is not a must, but it makes the experience more immersive and works on browsers like Oculus Quest only.

Interested visitors can enter the art fair in the metaverse via the link provided below, after which they get to choose the display name for their avatar or digital persona, which would be visible to the other IAF participants in the metaverse. 

https://metaverse.indiaartfair.in/ 

The next step is choosing one's avatar. Users are allowed to create a unique avatar or digital persona for themselves when they enter the India Art Fair in the metaverse. There are six different variables that participants get to vary to create their unique avatar.  

Users get to vary their skin colour, hair, eye wear, facial features, shirt and pants. 

After creating the unique avatar, users enter the art fair hosted in the metaverse, upon which they are greeted by a female voice in the background who explains who participants can navigate in the metaverse for the best experience. 

There are eleven major hotspots that the users can explore in the metaverse version of the fair. They include several exhibits, a helpdesk, an auditorium, a studio and workspace, etc. 

A 50-feet long mural, the Aravani Art Project, created by a trans artist collective depicts a vision for a binary free, and inclusive world. 

Another hotspot features Engulf, an artwork created by Narayan Sinha, is also exhibited. The sculpture tries to portray the tangled nature of the past year. 

Another prominent exhibit is Kochi Rewind, which includes multiple excerpts of video installments from the past four editions of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. 

Users can also explore the aerial view of the India Art Fair in the metaverse. 

Two eateries are also featured in the metaverse version of the fair, but of course, users can not enjoy them in the virtual world. 

Moreover, Tezos India, the India chapter of the Tezos blockchain network, is also featured in the metaverse. In a bid to inspire and increase the adoption of clean NFTs among artists, Tezos India has collaborated with BeFantastic, a tech-art platform to mark it's presence at the India Art Fair. 

The India Art Fair was bought alive in the metaverse because of the collaboration between XR Central and the fair body.

Though the metaverse version of the fair captures the essence of the real fair in general, navigating through the fair in the metaverse is a bit difficult because of the limitation of input commands. 

It is interesting to note that the India Art Fair is also being simultaneously held on the NSIC grounds. The fair will take place from April 28 to May 1. This is the 13th edition of the fair and is being organised under the guidance of Jaya Asokan, the fair director.