London’s art scene is back in the spotlight next week with the launch of Digital Art Week (DAW) (3-10 November), a new initiative comprising six free events to be held throughout the capital. Pledging to bring “digital art to the masses through a week of awe-inspiring displays”, DAW provides a platform for players in the burgeoning NFT and metaverse arenas.
The lavish new Outernet venue on Tottenham Court Road, will be one of the main hubs of the week. It is here the anonymous Smashtoshi collective will present Artists to Watch (6 November) with exhibiting artists including Hackatao, Deekay, Paul Milinski and Defaced. “The exhibition has been curated to showcase up and coming digital artists, as well as some of the leaders in the space,” says an online statement.
Meanwhile,Verse exhibition (8 November) at Cromwell Place in South Kensington will explore the “subject of gesture in digital art practice”, featuring pieces from the Metaversal collection, including works by Sofia Crespo, Tyler Hobbs, Casey Reas and Mathias Isaksen. Metaversal's website describes the organisation as investors in NFTs, artists and entrepreneurs, co-producing “NFT projects by connecting our capital to builders across the creative spectrum”.
Still from Andrés Reisinger Sam Mason's ANY DAY NOW (2022) Courtesy of the artists and W1 Curates
At W1 Curates on Oxford Street, the digital artist Andrés Reisinger and the film director Sam Mason present ANY DAY NOW (until 10 November), a new digital work “reflecting on life’s cycle and everything that happens in between”. Asked if the work is for sale, a spokesperson for the gallery says that “it is a site-specific public art installation”.
According to the event website, Digital Art Week is presented by six partners including the crypto art giant Cozmo de’ Medici and Outlier Ventures, which helps fund Web3 start-ups.
“With regards to funding, the project has been launched by Smashtoshi, a collective with a focus on bringing the world's best digital art to the public. In addition to art curated by Smashtoshi, Cozomo de’ Medici and [the digital art collector] 33NFT have contributed their collections to be on show. W1 Curates, Outernet and various other venues have provided space for this to be possible,” a project spokesperson says.
All events are free; tickets will be allocated by lottery and winners will be notified via email. Further editions are planned for Paris, Lisbon, New York, Miami, Seoul and Tokyo.