Metaverse Art Week 2023: The metaverse is dead. Long live the metaverse.
By Decentraland, , in Announcements
👉 Decentraland Art Week 2025 is taking place from September 24–27.
Explore more than 30 immersive installations, workshops, and parties across Genesis City.
Read the Ultimate Guide and get involved →
Metaverse Art Week is back for its 4th consecutive year and will take place in Decentraland July 19-23! In addition to talks, tours, and parties, this year’s edition of #MVAW23, organized in collaboration with art collective Vueltta, will display the immersive works of over 60 artists across numerous exhibitions and installations under the defiant theme ‘The metaverse is dead. Long live the metaverse’.
In the year when “Zuckerberg gave up and the SEC shook Web3 to its core”, Vueltta believes it is time to celebrate the death of the metaverse as we’ve known it and open Decentraland’s doors to the indie artists and creators quietly building the ‘real’ virtual world to throw a week-long, no-holds-barred art party. Always at the forefront of the metaverse revolution as the first fully decentralized virtual world, Decentraland is ready!
A New Addition to MVAW
This year, the main event of Metaverse Art Week will be MESH, the art fair for 3D, metaverse, and VR creators. Produced by Vueltta, the fair will showcase forty immersive new works from leading artists such as Hannes Hummel, Mattia Cuttini, Rebecca Rose, and Michelle Brown. Around this, Vueltta will celebrate metaverse culture with installations by underground, yet thriving, virtual creative communities. These include VERTEX by GucciToe x Tangpoko, HERE & NOW by Michael Beets, and RARE PEPE culture by the DecentraPEPE Shrine. The full list of participating artists can be seen below.
Beyond Exhibitions
If you’re not sure where to begin, jump into the Art Week Welcome Area where you’ll be able to teleport to Art Week’s various attractions, and stay on top of what’s happening by following #MVAW23 and @MESHfair. For a guided experience, join one of the daily MESH tours listed below and get a full overview of the event’s main attraction.
Don’t forget to save some energy for Art Week’s daily parties! After a day full of art appreciation, express your own creativity through thoughtfully curated Wearables outfits, another unique artform emerging from the evolving frontier of the metaverse. Together, arrayed in their eclectic ensembles, the Decentraland community will make each party a happening you cannot miss. To open this phenomenon to the wider art world for MVAW, Vueltta has worked with Decentraland’s most established organizers to throw parties that will call to mind a mashup of 1970s New York, 1990s raves, and Blade Runner. See the full schedule of events below.
Decentraland Tips & Tricks
If you’re totally new to Decentraland, jump to our FAQ section to learn how to get started.
During Metaverse Art Week, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the best in-world experience. For better graphics & a faster, more stable connection, use the Decentraland Desktop app instead of accessing the virtual world via browser. Download Decentraland for Desktop on PC or Mac. To capture the best quality footage and images of the artwork on display, follow these guidelines which will cover hiding the in-world UI, suggested recording programs, and other tips.
Metaverse Art Week Installations & Exhibitions
MESH - The art fair for 3D, metaverse, and VR creators
(52, 62) | Event Page
Debuting as the main event of Metaverse Art Week 2023, MESH was organized with the vision to connect leading 3D artists with galleries, creative studios, and collectors. Join the daily tours listed below for the full MESH experience. MESH showcases over thirty immersive new works by leading artists like Hannes Hummel, Mattia Cuttini, Rebecca Rose, and Michelle Brown - all presented in floating white cubes. MESH artists were selected by an invited panel of galleries, curators, and art collectors. This included Kate Vass Galerie, Zurich; SuperChief NFT Gallery, New York and LA; The NFT Gallery, London and New York and Alex Estorick, editor-in-chief at Right Click Save.
MESH is produced by Vueltta, the international art collective creating metaverse installations, and opens in an interactive environment created in collaboration with architect Luke Escobar (@eellillee). Escobar and Vueltta have used AI and 3D modeling to transform the landscapes of Ike no Taiga, the Japanese artist born 300 years ago, into an immersive and dream-like experience. Find the daily program at meshfair.com.
MESH at EDIFICE
(2, -39) | Event Page
Explore four MESH cubes in Edifice, Decentraland’s hub of digital culture. These are the artworks that “seeded” MESH with the first site-specific cubes by artists Fractilians, Low Poly Models, OgiWorlds, and bunnybreaker. Each pushed the creative possibilities of Decentraland, providing the initial inspiration for all 72 international artists who applied for MESH. Edifice is the 59-parcel estate developed by NFT photobook pioneer G.S. Broz, Berlin-based design studio metaplazas.com and DCL veteran dax. It was awarded an architecture prize in Renovi’s inaugural Next Top Metaverse Build and was featured in Polygonal Mind’s MetaTrip series. Having recently hosted installations and events with both Vueltta and MetaTrekkers, Edifice has become a noteworthy supporter of immersive creativity.
HERE & NOW
(55, 61) | Event Page
The first Decentraland installation by HERE & NOW, a group of artists who “take culture seriously; we are curious about what virtual experiences can do, and have fun doing it.” HERE & NOW is known for its constant innovations and fresh approach to experiencing art in the metaverse. They are also recognized for building strong communities and supporting artists— proudly putting over $200,000 into artists' pockets over the last two years.
VERTEX at THE HIVE
(61, 69) | Event Page
Creative collective Dollhouse presents VERTEX at THE HIVE. Designed by House of Tang, The HIVE draws its structural inspiration from a honeycomb. This is not merely an aesthetic choice but mirrors the hive's function as a site of growth, sustenance, and unity. This concept is embedded in the gallery's inaugural exhibit, VERTEX: ART MEETS MUSIC—an exploration of sound, sight, and the manipulation of spatial dimensions. The exhibition underlines the HIVE's mission to foster an interconnected, metaverse community in the same vein as a thriving beehive. Thus, the HIVE emerges as an incubator of creativity, embodying a nexus where art, music, and human connection are not just displayed but nurtured and celebrated.
MYTHIC at DHINGIA GALLERY
(56, 55) | Event Page
Creative producer Mr. Dhingia has transformed the Vimana, an ancient flying chariot from ancient Indian history, into an immersive art gallery in the metaverse. Three people use their mystical powers to gracefully hold the Vimana, a lotus-shaped flying chariot, in the air. Inside the Vimana’s suspended gallery you’ll find MYTHIC, an exhibition of leading NFT artists on the theme of mythology. See works by Miss AL Simpson, Florencia Bruck, Rukmunal Hakim, Enrique Agudo, and Mueo. Curated by Vueltta x Mr. Dhinga for Metaverse Art Week 2023.
MICHI TODD - Awakening: A Shared Perspective
(61, 66) | Event Page
Digital artist and Web3 creator Michi Todd presents a new space about community. The immersive work ‘Awakening: A Shared Perspective’ is Michi’s reflection on his experiences making friendships through Web3. The design is a collaborative piece from Michi’s experiments with fellow community creator @Clammyeth as they swapped their IRL environments for a month. Both creators have collaborated on this new work as “a way for people to feel how our perspective shifted”.
UXART MUSEUM - The IBM Historical Collection
(69, 69) | Event Page
The art laboratory UXArt, in collaboration with IBM, has created a unique collection of artwork in new digital formats based on Web3 technology. Through the use of programming, analysis of historical data, 3D modeling, and generative artificial intelligence, they have reconstructed a collection of important works in the history of Generative Art.
In the 1960s, two Argentinian artists, Miguel Ángel Vidal and Eduardo MacEntyre, made history using an IBM computer, developing an early form of generative art that is still considered avant-garde today. UXArt worked for several months on their archival material to recreate these iconic works using the same IBM machine strokes, and can now debut these historic pieces in Decentraland. This collaboration between UXArt and IBM shows how innovation and creativity can be combined to produce something exceptional.
DecentraPEPE Shrine
(57,-30) | Event Page
A part of metaverse history, DecentraPEPE Shrine is a Rare Pepe Card Gallery, created and minted in 2017 by architect Rizk Ghazaly. This shrine to Rare Pepe culture was contributed when Decentraland was in ICO phase, predating most metaverse builds. The cultural significance of Rare Pepes comes from their release as one of the earliest NFT collections (2016 to 2018). Many Rare Pepes critiqued prominent figures in crypto and social media during that period.
BALLISTICS by RADIX
(-1,61) | Event Page
Ballistics is a generative kinetic sculpture collection by artist Radix (Rob Dixon). The works draw on a rich tradition of kinetic sculpture by artists like Naum Gabo, Julio Le Parc, and the GRAV collective. Simple forms float with meditative grace, or jump with manic energy, invoking very different responses. You can walk, climb, and dance upon the sculptures to enhance your own experience.
Designed for display in both Decentraland and Art Blocks Engine, Ballistics is the first metaverse-native generative art collection. Radix has previously released three generative art collections on Art Blocks including the curated 'Inspirals' in 2021. Experience these new immersive motion studies in the Pedestal Art Gallery at Crystal City.
CHECKMATE at ELO Chess Club
(-118,6) | Event Page
Visit CHECKMATE, a new, site-specific art exhibition curated by Vueltta in collaboration with ELO Chess Club, where mastery in chess meets the metaverse. Twenty NFTs from international digital artists hang in this well-loved Decentraland location.
Artgence x Boson Boulevard
(-76,113) | Event Page
Artgence and Boson will host a space dedicated to creating opportunities to discover, explore, and experience stories in physical and digital art. This exhibition, curated by Marques Hardin and Holly Wood, features Rob Grad, Bill Kawah, Kwame Acheampong, Julie Bessard, Ken Kamara and Afroscope from the Artgence stable. The exhibition will explore the liminal space in digital and physical creativity, giving space and voices to a diverse set of upcoming artists. Physical paintings, digital art, sculpture, and photography will be available to purchase as redeemable NFTs connecting the metaverse and the universe. Immersive environments will create shared digital experiences where audiences become core to their journey choices, and the relationship between artist and collector is explored.
Schedule of Events: Parties, Tours & Talks
Tuesday 18
Decentraland DAO - MESH Twitter Space & Tour
(52, 62) + @DecentralandDAO | 6 - 7pm UTC | Event Page
DAO community preview of MESH with Twitter Space and in-world tour.
Wednesday 19
MESH Opening Tour & Twitter Space
(52, 62) + @MESHfair | 5 - 6pm UTC | Event Page
Enjoy an in-world guided tour of MESH, the art fair for 3D, metaverse and VR creatives and listen to a simultaneous Twitter Space on the art and artists!
Low Poly Models - Warm-up Party
(72,-24) | 7 - 8pm UTC | Event Page
Enter the immersive world of Low Poly Models, the virtual HQ of the Low Poly Models creative team, now converted into an art gallery and party space. Enjoy an unforgettable hour and explore the team’s curation of digital art by artists from around the world. Low Poly Models parties are usually packed—it’s a great place to start your metaverse journey.
TRU Band Room - Art Week Opening Party
(27, -118) | 9 - 10pm UTC | Event Page
TRU Band Room is the premier music venue in Decentraland for new and emerging musicians. Since October 2021, the Band Room has hosted more than 600 LIVE shows, across multiple genres, including rock, hip-hop, jazz, reggae, electronic, R&B, pop, and dance. Artists receive a complete onboarding experience to help them start their metaverse journey. Join in their Art Week opening party, good music is guaranteed!
Thursday 20
MESH Tour & Twitter Space - Courtyard 2
(52, 62) + @MESHfair | 5 - 6pm UTC | Event Page
Enjoy an in-world guided tour of MESH, the art fair for 3D, metaverse and VR creatives and listen to a simultaneous Twitter Space on the art and artists!
The WIP Meetup at MESH
(52,62) | 7 - 8pm UTC | Event Page
Join hosts Matthew and Rizzle, and artists Fractilians and Bay, on an anarchic tour with WIP: the metaverse’s longest-running meetup.
Dollhouse VERTEX Art Week Afterparty
(61, 69) | 9 - 10pm UTC | Event Page
Dollhouse is a legendary events venue in Decentraland. Their regular club night VERTEX is an immersive multi-metaverse event that celebrates live music and visual art. VERTEX brings together show creator and Dollhouse resident DJ Guccitoe with talented digital artists from the Web3 community, creating an explosive experience that merges art, music, and technology. For Metaverse Art Week 2023, Dollhouse brings the VERTEX party to The Hive installation.
Friday 21
Future Art Forms: Twitter Space & In-World Tour
(52, 62) + @MESHfair | 5 - 6pm UTC | Event Page
Listen to leading art curators and creators talk about their favorites from the MESH art fair, as you explore the installations in-world.
MetaParty Metaverse Art Week Event
(2, 16) | 8 - 9pm UTC | Event Page
MetaParty was founded in June 2021 to create exceptional experiences and events for the Decentraland community. The team has hosted over three hundred events including games experiences, Metaverse Fashion Week parties, Parkour challenges, live streams and DJ collaborations. Their Metaverse Art Week experience will definitely be an hour to remember.
Saturday 22
SugarClub Art Week Afterparty
(-1,-35) | 7 - 8pm UTC | Event Page
SugarClub, established in 2019, is Decentraland's original immersive metaverse venue. With captivating artwork and innovative designs, SugarClub engages audiences across platforms. The upcoming show for #MVAW23 will be live-streamed in Decentraland and Hyperfy. They'll also showcase their latest NFT art, promising an exceptional session of music, connection, and creativity.
ELO Chess Ball - Live Music and Art
(-118,6) | 10 - 11pm UTC | Event Page
Step into Decentraland for a night of splendor at ELO Chess Club with the elegant Metaverse Ball. Surrender to the rhythm of live music and marvel at an exclusive display of NFT art.
Sunday 23
casa Roustan - Closing Party
(37,-114) | 8 - 9pm UTC | Event Page
casa Roustan is home to resident body painter Roustan. It has long been a source of creative vibes in Decentraland, forming countless relationships, featuring amazing DJs, and acting as a 3D playground for the artist.
RSVP to Metaverse Art Week now, and prepare to immerse yourself in the thrilling evolution of digital art and the digital realm as we celebrate the birth of a new metaverse, created by the virtual communities that inhabit it. See you July 19-23!