Introducing Africarare, the first South African metaverse to launch, housing digital land with roots in the African continent. This exciting 3D virtual reality immersive experience brings an entire new Metaverse marketplace that will showcase the best of African creativity and provide a new platform for African artists. Featuring the debut NFT collection from renowned artist Norman Catherine, Africarare will officially launch at the upcoming SingularityU South Africa Summit 2021, taking place online from 12–15 October 2021.
The Africarare immersive experience will reside on Ubuntuland in virtual Africa. In the future (from 2022), using the $UBU Coin, land can be bought, traded, kept or used for various experiences such as art exhibitions, games or social experiences. Once land is purchased, one can create their own application on top of it. Users can create their own unique avatars that can be traded along with unique skins such as hats, jackets and even shoes. Additionally, various Africarare NFT collections will be released.
This metaverse will launch with a premium collection of five pieces in two separate NFT (non-fungible token) drops from world renowned South African artist Norman Catherine whose body of work spans painting, sculpture, printmaking and mixed media. This is the debut NFT collection by Catherine, following the likes of Gary Vee and Frank Miller who have embraced the medium internationally.
Catherine held his first solo exhibition in Johannesburg in 1969, which led to a multi-decade career as one of the country’s most prolific artists. His work, which features his own lexicon of archetypes in various media is included in most South African art museums, in multiple corporate art collections as well as in the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum in New York.
Catherine’s NFT pieces will be auctioned, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Hartbeespoort Animal Welfare Society. The auction continues until 15 October 2021 and bids may be made using the Ethereum digital currency.
“NFTs have opened up a whole new medium for artists to explore. I am very much looking forward to being part of this new and exciting digital era of art marketing. It has opened up a whole new audience for artists and judging by the exponential expansion over the last year it will be something that will continue to grow and become more accepted,” said Catherine. “This is a new era of investment art,” he added.
Africarare will exhibit art collections from South Africa and around the world, and will be an ever-evolving platform showcasing innovation, with multiple opportunities for collaboration and engagement. The platform was developed by Mann Made in Johannesburg, well known for their work in virtual reality and immersive digital experiences.
To view Africarare, go to https://www.africarare.io/.
