#PSA: The Metaverse is finally equalising the playing field for all artists

Only seven per cent of artworks hanging in the UK’s major public galleries are by women, according to a recent report by Murray Edwards College in Cambridge. Yet, while physical institutions still have entrenched historic gender biases, the virtual art world has the potential to be a much more level playing field.

"NFTs enable all people, regardless of sex, race, geography, or religion, to have an equal voice," says Krista Kim, the artist and founder of the digital studio 0.xyz and the Techism movement, which recognises technological innovation as an artistic discipline. "That means women can have the same opportunities to access and create communities around their work."

The metaverse is essentially an alternate version of the internet presented in 3D—a digital space parallel to the physical world where people can interact via avatars. It is accessible using virtual-reality headsets, or through any device with a browser. Obtaining digital art is much like buying a physical piece, except it can come with a non-fungible token (NFT)—a unique certificate of authenticity. NFTs can be purchased using cryptocurrencies and blockchains (an unchangeable, continually updating database) such as Tezos; they also enable artists to earn royalties from their work if it is later resold. Major art houses including Christie’s and Sotheby’s are now incorporating them into their auctions; digital works made up six per cent of their sales last year.

For Kim, the greatest benefit of virtual art is that it allows makers to put human connection at the fore—something studies have shown women to be particularly good at. "For the past 12 years, we’ve used technology that was designed for capitalism," she explains. "When artists take the lead and collaborate with engineers and companies on projects of beauty, that’s when we will combine humanity with technology." 

Emblematic of this philosophy is Kim’s Mars House (2020), the world’s first digital home, whose sorbet colour palette and subdued lighting were designed to offer a sanctuary from the stresses of the pandemic. It sold for the equivalent of about £430,000 (almost 10 times the amount it was listed for) and was one of several high-profile transactions that have propelled the NFT market forward—it is expected to reach £650 billion in the next two years.

Kim is among a number of trailblazing women with a presence on the NFT marketplace Rarible, whose head of artist relationships Holly Wood says her priority is to ensure that "the metaverse is built with inclusivity at its core." Among those she has brought onboard are Mila Lolli, who creates fantastical light-infused scenery; Joëlle Snaith, who uses musical soundscapes as a backdrop to her animated geometric works; and Graceland London, whose character-based Lady Lileth collection includes a digital city. Wood is also in the process of forming an all-female NFT trading squad, "to give women the tools to better support the distribution of wealth in this new ecosystem."

High-profile collectors of digital art include Reese Witherspoon, who has been championing female NFT artists through her own online gallery, featuring works by the women-led brands Boss Beauties, DeadFellaz, and World of Women. The latter, which launched in July last year with 10,000 artworks, has quickly become one of the most profitable purveyors of NFTs, already grossing the equivalent of £122 million through sales of its all-female avatars.

Building a virtual world is ultimately a creative endeavour, says Kim, "and it will be art that drives it forward." With communities of female artists continuing to emerge and thrive in these early stages of the metaverse, it is likely that women will increasingly be shaping its future.  

This piece originally appeared in the print edition of Harper's Bazaar UK.