HTC VIVE has opened a bespoke Metaverse arts and culture store for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with the new platform aiming to build immersive spaces for content creators as well as host digital art in virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR), the tech giant announced on Thursday.
HTC will host content on the VIVE Arts trading platform via its website, where content creators would have “complete control” over NFT editions and sale formats in both fiat and crypto currencies.
The Taoyuan City-based company stated future digital spaces would need to allow “seamless transactions across both fiat currency and cryptocurrencies, owning items and NFT trading, using your wallet-as-identity, connecting and collaborating, encryption, privacy” and others.
Sales on the VIVE Arts marketplace would launch December 17, where users can purchase NFTs from acclaimed Czech Artist Alphonse Mucha in partnership with the Mucha Foundation.
The NFT sales will commemorate the Mucha Foundation’s launch of the ‘Mucha to Manga – The Magic of the Line’ exhibition in Taipei, capital of HTC’s home country, along with monthly NFT series reveals amid the event and a concluding auction of a special artwork in April next year.
Cher Wang, Co-founder and Chairwoman of HTC, said the new platform “heralds the next building block” in the VIVE Arts development of a “holistic arts and culture ecosystem”.
She continued, stating the new digital marketplace would “enhance the rich, growing world of digital art,” adding,
“This platform enables VIVE Arts to enhance our support for artists and institutions, opening up new opportunities for digital creativity, innovation and connection using blockchain technology”
Celina Yeh, Executive Director for VIVE Arts, added her company was “thrilled” to further collaborate with the Mucha Foundation for its initial sales, which invited “global audiences to discover the foundation’s remarkable collection and acquire beloved artworks by Alphonse Mucha as NFTs.”
XR Art Universe Expands Across Industry
The arts industry has seen a major shift by adopting XR solutions, which have become a new medium for creative content as well as greatly expanded the reach and scope of work from global content creators.
Marriot Bonvoy was one of the most recent companies to adopt XR-based NFTs after it hired three digital artists to promote its ‘Power of Travel’ global campaign at the Art Basel Miami Beach 2021 event.
XR Today recently spoke with Yoyo Munk, Tin Drum’s Chief Science Officer, who explained the complex processes and impact of XR artwork on audiences at the London Design Festival in August.
The London-based Realities Centre also hosted a major event in late November to promote startups, content creators, and tech firms. Psychic VR Labs, creator of the STYLY platform partnered with HTC, sponsored the festival and was joined by contributing firms Unity, OpenBrush, and TiltBrush.
