A visual feast where reality meets virtuality — the large-scale art exhibition "Virtual Habitat | Have You Seen the Meme in the Mirror?" is about to open
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A visual feast where reality meets virtuality — the large-scale art exhibition "Virtual Habitat | Have You Seen the Meme in the Mirror?" is about to open
This will mark the first time that these three crypto artists and their works, who have previously appeared at Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses, are showcased in China.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsThe world's major crypto art exhibition, "Virtual Niche—Have You Ever Seen Memes in the Mirror?" will officially open on March 26 at UCCA Lab in Beijing. The exhibition will run for 10 days, lasting until April 4.
Meanwhile, the Shanghai leg will follow as the second stop of this exhibition tour. Similar to the Beijing venue, the Shanghai exhibition will also be hosted at the artistically vibrant Jinghua Art Space, opening on April 9 and running through April 11. In addition to the exciting themed exhibition, the CRYPTOULTRA forum on April 9 will focus on gaming, music, sports, fashion, and other areas, bringing together leading Crypto NFT projects, investment institutions, well-known KOLs, and artists to discuss the development and future of NFTs. What possibilities arise when NFTs, virtual spaces, and social experiments converge? Where does NFT value lie in a post-scarcity era? Let us watch closely and wait with anticipation!
This art exhibition is initiated by Block Create Art (BCA), Asia’s first crypto art platform, and co-organized by Kusama.Network—the experimental global blockchain institution, BITMAIN, a world-leading technology company in blockchain and artificial intelligence, DFG (Digital Finance Group), a globally renowned blockchain and digital asset investment firm, and Winkrypto, an integrated marketing solutions provider in the blockchain sector.
Block Create Art (BCA), Asia’s first crypto art platform, stated that this exhibition aims to help the public understand blockchain culture and foster interaction between traditional art circles and the crypto art and blockchain technology communities. It will also mark the first-ever appearance in China of three crypto artists and their works that have been listed at Sotheby’s and Christie’s auction houses.
Titled “Virtual Niche—Have You Ever Seen Memes in the Mirror?”, this art exhibition will showcase crypto art rooted in art and blockchain technology. With unique on-site installations, it offers a new interactive aesthetic and immersive experience, helping audiences understand crypto art while conveying culturally and socially relevant ideas.
Memes are new creations reflecting reality and widely embraced in the virtual world. What kind of chemical reaction occurs when visually striking memes collide with blockchain? The exhibition will deliver a distinctive visual feast of crypto art.
Notably, the exhibition will be divided into red and blue zones by lighting design. The red zone features works inspired by memes’ representation of reality, emphasizing the essential nature of crypto art. The blue zone highlights crypto art as an emerging art form, showcasing not only aesthetic value but also reflections on real life and social philosophy.
Lighting design for the red and blue zones of the exhibition, designed by NIKO EDWARDS
The exhibition brings together influential artists from around the world, including: Benjamin Gentilli’s Robert Alice project, which set a record in 2020 at Christie’s with an NFT sale of $131,250; experimental art pioneer Professor Wu Jian’an from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, presenting his Boxing Men series; and Chen Baoyang’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Cows?, a work bridging technology and art. Additionally, the top six winning entries from the “Metamorphosis: The Order of Encryption” BCA × Kusama.Network Global Digital Art Competition will also be featured.
BEEPLE: EVERYDAYS HOME PLANET, one of Beeple's 20 exhibited works
Portraits of a Mind, 2019, physical installation with NFT digital art, Robert Alice
Do Androids Dream of Electric Cows?, Chen Baoyang, 2017, VR installation
Excitingly, alongside the Beijing premiere, the exhibition will feature Chiba Gallery—the Kusama.Network crypto art gallery—and a series of public engagement events, including a crypto art workshop co-presented by BCA and Kusama.Network, a themed night party and crypto art cocktail exhibition jointly launched by BCA and Beijing’s renowned bar brand Dandy Room. BCA will also collaborate deeply with Polkadot, Pernod Ricard, and other organizations to provide visitors with an immersive crypto art viewing experience.
Exhibition Details:
VIP Preview: Mar 26, 2021, 14:00
Opening Ceremony: Mar 26, 2021, 16:00
Beijing UCCA Lab Exhibition Period: Mar 26 – Apr 4, 2021
Jinghua Art Center Exhibition Period: Apr 9 – Apr 11, 2021
Curator: Sun Bohan
Producers: Sun Bohan, Qinwen
Exhibition Coordinator: Lou Ziwei
Special Guest: Liu Gang
Art Advisor: Xiao Ge
Special Thanks: Jehan Chu, Ge Yuesheng, Sun Ming
Lighting Director: Gao Yang
Exhibition Executives: Chen Yu, Elodie He, Guo Zhenyao, Hou Siyi, Wang Shuai, Wei Jia, Wang Zengchen, Wen Zihan, Xiang Shuinan, Xiao Yuxin, Zhang Hui, Zhang Zhiheng, Zhu Ning, Zhang Julong, Zhang Wanqi
Participating Artists:
Alida Sun, Alotta Money, Artonomous, Bronwyn Lundberg, Beeple, Tiger Cai, Chen Baoyang, Celyn Bricker, Dabeiyuzhou (The Great Sadness Universe), deadmau5 and Mad Dog Jones, Ellwood, Fewocious, Hipworth, CryptoZR (Liu Jiaying), Liu Fang, Maalavidaa, Marble Mannequin, Mario Klingemann, mbsjq, Pak, Refik Anadol, Reva, Robbie Barrat, Robert Alice, Sun Bohan, Suryanto, Sun Yidian, Wu Jian’an, Wang Siwei
Creators of "First Supper": Alotta Money, Blackboxdotart, Coldie, Connie Digital, Hackatao, Josie Bellini, Matt Kane, Mlibty, Rutger van der Tas, Shortcut, TwistedVacancy, VansDesign, and XCOPY.
Grand Opening Events
1. VIP Event & Joint Guided Tour by Curator Sun Bohan and Producer Qinwen
Time: Mar 26, 2021, 13:30–16:00
Location: UCCA Lab, Beijing
2. Shanghai Exhibition Opening & Joint Guided Tour by Sun Bohan and Qinwen
Time: Apr 9, 2021
Location: Jinghua Art Space, Shanghai
3. Launch of Chiba Gallery – Kusama.Network’s Crypto Art Gallery
Time: Mar 26, 2021
Location: UCCA Lab, Beijing
Note: Opens concurrently with the “Virtual Niche—Have You Ever Seen Memes in the Mirror?” exhibition
Tech x Art Public Education
4. BCA x Kusama.Network NFT Tech Art Workshop
Presented by Parity Technologies engineers Suvi Dong and Dan Forbes
Time: Apr 3–4, 2021
Location: UCCA Lab, Beijing
Time: Apr 10–11, 2021
Location: Jinghua Art Space, Shanghai
5. BCA x Winkrypto NFT Themed Forum: CRYPTOULTRA
Time: Apr 9, 2021
Location: Jinghua Art Space, Shanghai
Art x Tech x Fashion Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
6. BCA x Dandy Room Themed Night
Time: Every Friday and Saturday during the exhibition period (Mar 26 – Apr 4), 20:00 until close
Location: UCCA Lab, Beijing
About the Exhibition
“From a historical perspective, every significant transformation in art history has been closely tied to technological advancement. Today, with the rise of blockchain technology, the crypto art movement has emerged. As Asia’s first tech-art brand dedicated to blockchain digital art, BCA seeks breakthroughs and presents a pure crypto art exhibition.”
— Sun Bohan, Founder of BCA Blockchain Art, Curator and Producer of this exhibition
“Technology and art may seem like two opposing worlds, yet their underlying logic is surprisingly consistent—both driven by curiosity and imagination. Technology pursues truth, art pursues beauty; both require relentless exploration and creation. Through this exhibition, we hope to convey the beauty of technology and art in the Web3.0 era. This marks the first direct connection and interaction between China’s Bitcoin community and the Polkadot community.”
— Qinwen, Exhibition Producer, Head of Web3 Foundation China Community; Member of the Polkadot Council
“Blockchain and art both embody humanity’s aspiration for a better future. I believe their integration will surely bring even greater things to humankind.”
— Ge Yuesheng, Co-founder of BITMAIN
“Kusama.Network strongly supports the art world, funding tech-art projects through its on-chain governed treasury council to help more people understand blockchain.”
— Gavin Wood, Founder of Polkadot & Kusama, Former CTO of Ethereum
“The fusion of blockchain and art truly enables and safeguards the idea that ‘everyone can be an artist’ in the virtual world, forming an open, global art community. Crypto art is transforming creation, copyright, and transaction models in the art world, representing the most creative artistic revolution of the 21st century—a new art ecosystem for the future.”
— Xiao Ge, Co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of Phoenix Art, Vice President of Phoenix Satellite TV Link Culture
About the Organizers and Supporting Partners
Organizer:
Block Create Art (BCA) is Asia’s first tech-art brand deeply committed to the blockchain digital art field, encompassing blockchain art creation, trading, IP operations, and full ecosystem research and development.
Co-organizers:
Kusama.Network is a scalable blockchain network founded in 2019 by Gavin Wood, co-founder of Polkadot and Ethereum.
BITMAIN is a world-leading computing power chip company, officially established in October 2013. Guided by the vision of “Focusing on computing power chips to make the human digital world better,” BITMAIN has established R&D centers and subsidiaries in multiple countries and regions worldwide.
Digital Finance Group (DFG), founded in 2015, is a global blockchain and digital asset investment firm with offices in Silicon Valley, Singapore, Shanghai, and Abu Dhabi, managing over $550 million in assets. One of the earliest venture capital firms in the blockchain industry, DFG has invested in leading companies such as Brave, Circle, Bloq, RSK, and LedgerX. It also operates Matrix Exchange, a fully licensed virtual asset exchange platform in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Winkrypto was founded in Singapore in 2019 as a consultancy dedicated to decoding the crypto world. Its services span investor relations, PR and marketing, event management, exchange relations, and advisory consulting. Winkrypto maintains strong partnerships with core media outlets, developer communities, financial institutions, and business leaders, with a broad reach across Greater China, North America, Europe, and the wider Asia-Pacific region.
Co-hosts:
Web3 Foundation funds research and technical teams building the decentralized web technology stack. Established by Dr. Gavin Wood, co-founder and former CTO of Ethereum, in Zug, Switzerland.
Zonff Partners is a hybrid fund focused on venture capital, quantitative funds, and computing power investments in the blockchain space. Driven by industry cycles and deep research, it employs a multidimensional management strategy to systematically capture structural opportunities throughout blockchain’s development cycle.
PolkaWorld is the leading Chinese community for the Polkadot network and an operational partner of Web3 Foundation in China.
AndArt is a creative agency dedicated to unlocking synergies between global brands and the art world. Headquartered in the U.S., its global team partners with organizations across China, Europe, and the Middle East.
Realy is a global trend-focused NFT community. As a bridge between street culture and blockchain, REALY has formed official partnerships with prominent brands such as Mars Space Station and Revenge, aiming to bring streetwear, collectibles, trendy artworks, and youth communities into the crypto world.
Partners:
Absolut Vodka is a leading premium vodka brand offering authentic taste and naturally crafted flavored vodkas.
Mask Network is a gateway helping users seamlessly transition from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, primarily providing encrypted messaging and continuously expanding around this core functionality.
Metapurse Fund invests in the world’s most valuable digital assets and enterprises, co-owning a growing virtual community with these ventures.
Flamingo is an NFT-focused DAO exploring emerging investment opportunities in ownable, blockchain-based assets. NFTs will play an increasingly important role in creating, monetizing, and incentivizing online digital content.
Seven o'clock is co-founded by seasoned experts and think tanks from the crypto and digital domain, aiming to advance blockchain technology, promote DeFi knowledge, and accelerate blockchain adoption across industries.
Unique Network is the NFT parachain for Kusama and Polkadot, dedicated to providing unique support for the next generation of Web3 networks.
Terra Virtua is a blockchain-based cross-platform ecosystem for sharing, trading, and interacting with digital collectibles. The platform offers a unique and innovative marketplace for collecting and distributing NFTs, featuring AR and VR environments for engaging with content. Terra Virtua is also a top-tier entertainment brand, providing creators and collectors a multi-platform space to interact and share exclusive content.
Lancer Capital, founded in 2017, is a leading financial services firm in Asia’s blockchain industry, focusing on blockchain venture capital. Its group includes three divisions: venture capital, strategic consulting, and crypto digital asset funds. Lancer Capital specializes in identifying high-potential early-stage projects and provides comprehensive, lifecycle advisory services to support their growth.
Dandy Room is a suit-themed bar created by mr.dandy, a top-tier bespoke suit brand in China. It will co-host four after-parties with BCA during the exhibition.
Special Thanks:
Jehan Chu, Cao Yin, and Qinwen for lending artworks;
Flamingo and Metapurse Fund for lending artworks;
API Gallery for lending artworks;
Ti Capital for support;
Zhao Siyuan for support;
LD Capital for support;
Daniele Sileri for support;
Parity Technologies, Unique Network, and Bit.Country for technical support for Chiba Gallery;
Whitestone Gallery for lending artworks;
Dan Forbes and Suvi Dong for academic support for the workshops;
Underline Studio for studio provision;
Raster Eyes and Joe for personal CryptoPunk collection display;
NIKO EDWARDS for lighting direction
For early-bird tickets to the art exhibition, please click the “source link” below.
Source link:weidian.com
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