The Indian Art Fair was guaranteed to be a success when it returned in its physical form after a two-year hiatus. The yearly festival, which showcased the greatest of South Asia’s modern and contemporary art, was open not just to guests at the NSIC grounds in New Delhi, but also to individuals all over the world via the metaverse.
The India Art Fair teamed up with XR Central to create a 3D metaverse experience that can be accessed through a browser. All that was required of the virtual visitors was a reliable internet connection. It wasn’t necessary to have AR or VR equipment, but it certainly made the experience more immersive. Visitors to the metaverse had to choose from a variety of avatars, customize them, and then access the fair via the fair’s website.
Jaya Asokan, Director, India Art Fair, stated that “The goal of establishing a metaverse was to provide spectators with a broad picture view of the fair and to gain a sense of various portions of the program.” It was made gamifiable by allowing users to construct an avatar of themselves while they walked through and explored the fair, as well as see and cross paths with other metaverse users in real-time. The turnout has been fantastic, both among those who planned to attend the expo and those who were unable to come to Delhi to be with us.”
Visitors were allowed to access the full fair and tour important sites to see exceptional features such as artist Faiza Hasan’s BMW car wrap, Narayan Sinha’s ‘Engulf’ – a sculpture constructed from garbage silencer pipes, and Anshuka Mahapatra’s and the Aravani Art Project’s massive fair facade.
The whole point was to give visitors a bird’s eye view of the metaverse so they could plan their visit. We routinely conduct user research prior to launching a project, and we discovered that when consumers attend a trade show, they mark the areas they wish to explore.
“A metaverse is open to all virtual areas with a wealth of opportunities to engage the viewer intimately,” Shrey stated, elaborating on the opportunity that the metaverse presents to the domain of art. It’s a universal match, with avatars, the capacity to customize avatars, and technologies like blockchain, NFTs, and multiplayers that 3D galleries lack.”
The fair was also a success on the ground, with most participating galleries and artists reporting record sales and a positive response. Furthermore, art collectors were enthralled by the wide range of artwork on display. No one seemed to be complaining.