Press : wwwforum: Das NRW-Forum Düsseldorf im Metaversum

Digital art needs digital spaces: on 30 March 2023, the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf will launch wwwforum, a virtual space that provides artists and visitors with a playground for experimentation and explores the possibilities of digital exhibitions. Together with Studio Christian Mio Loclair and the platform nextmuseum.io, the NRW-Forum is one of the first art institutions to step into the metaverse.

The web is not a digital alternative to reality; it is a place with its own possibilities. The advancement of virtual worlds and augmented realities has also brought about changes in artistic production and the presentation of exhibitions. The wwwforum is a three-dimensional landscape, a communal space for artistic creation as well as events, exhibitions and experiments. Studio Christian Mio Loclair has designed this virtual venue, which takes up typical elements of the NRW-Forum and augments them to produce an interactive experience space. The project is hosted by the platform JourneeX.

wwwforum opens on 30 March with the exhibition Come out and dance by Studio Christian Mio Loclair that poses fundamental questions about augmented reality: is there an aura of the digital? What is a digital twin? And when does augmented reality become autonomous? From May 2023, residencies will allow artists to occupy the space. Participants will be selected via an open call on the platform nextmuseum.io – applications are open from 30 March to 30 April 2023. Further information can be found at: www.nextmuseum.io/

Visitors are invited to explore the space and to observe the artists live at work or to participate in exhibitions and events.

The NRW-Forum Düsseldorf is already a pioneer in this field: in 2017 it launched a digital extension for virtual reality exhibitions. Designed by internet artist and programmer Manuel Rossner, the space was opened with an international group exhibition titled Unreal (25 May–30 July 2017). In 2020, the NRW-Forum hosted the world’s first AR Biennale. This digital sculpture park in the Ehrenhof and Hofgarten presented 20 augmented reality works by international artists and collectives. The second edition of the biennale begins on 14 May 2023 under the theme of Hybrid Nature.

The platform nextmuseum.io is a collaborative project by the NRW-Forum/Kunstpalast Düsseldorf and the Museum Ulm with the aim of sustainably integrating swarm curation and co-creation into museum practice. Funded by the Digital Fund within the Digital Culture Programme of the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

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