An in-club gallery has launched in Spain, hosting works by famous digital artists Beeple and Mad Dog Jones. The nightclub Hi Ibiza, ranked top in the world, opened what its owners called the first permanent art gallery inside a club. The development is seen as an effort to mix nightlife with digital art.
According to reports, the nightclub was launched this summer, unveiling its gallery alongside Ibiza-based nightlife group The Night League. The nightclub, which has been voted as the world’s best in the last four consecutive years, also unveiled London digital art collective W1 Curates. The exhibition blends digital, physical, interactive installations, and custom-built display technology.
In-club art gallery launches with works from famous artists
According to the organizers, the gallery presents a selection of works from the best artists across the world. “From cinematic design to surreal architecture and cyberpunk storytelling, the gallery presents a curated selection of today’s most influential digital artists,” the organizers said in a statement. In addition, it is also seen as a broader push to bring digital and NFT art into physical locations.
This is not the first time that such a blend has been witnessed across the world, with Bright Moments launching its NFT gallery in Venice, California, in 2021. Web3 NYC Gallery also followed in the same path the next year, launching its Genesis NFT exhibition in New York. The in-club gallery space features a mural work created by a British graffiti artist, Mr Cenz, at the entrance of the club.
Visitors are allowed to scan the mural with the W1 Curates smartphone application, revealing an augmented reality animation. Inside the art gallery, several works are lined up, including two sculptures made by British graphic designer and album cover artist KidEight, known to have collaborated with 2 Chainz, French Montana, Gucci Mane, and Fabulous. He also collaborated with American street artist WhIsBe to create a six-foot green gummy bear.
Other artists featured inside the in-club gallery include Annibale Siconolfi, Mad Dog Jones, Shiro, Ash Thorp, Six N. Five, and Beeple, who is popular for selling one of the biggest digital artworks—Everydays: The first 5,000 Days. Beeple sold the artwork in 2021 for $69.3 million at an auction, with the sale coming at a time when the NFT sector was just trying to penetrate the mainstream market. Other artists have since gone on to sell more digital artworks.
According to the organizers, the lineup is expected to rotate every two weeks during the summer. The main in-club gallery space was designed by W1 Curates, creating a space to adapt to each artist’s color palette using large-scale projection and immersive lighting. The gallery launch will include talks by W1 Curates, Seedphrase, Bitcoin historian and artist Smashtoshi, Trevor Jones, and Farokh, president and co-founder of DASTAN.
The in-club art gallery is also expected to have a Wild Corner featuring a DJ set to entertain the guests. The exhibition features “cutting-edge digital artists alongside additional physical works, encouraging guests to explore, pause, and connect with the art beyond the dance floor,” the organizers said. Meanwhile, the hype around NFTs has seemed to have cooled down in the last few years, with trading volumes dropping drastically.
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