British Museum Falls To Metaverse After Partnering With The Sandbox

JAKARTA - One of the leading museums in the UK, British Museum, reportedly plunged into the world of the metaverse through a partnership with The Sandbox, an Ethereum-based metaverse platform.

In this collaboration, the museum plans to create a collection of non-fungible tokens (NFT) to showcase various artifacts owned by the museum. This digital art collection will be built alongside museum licensing partners, French startup LaCollection.

This NFT collection will provide immersive experiences for players around the world, allowing them to explore museum collections. In addition, the British Museum will build its own space in the online gaming world The Sandbox, side by side with other well-known cultural brands such as Snoop Dogg, McDonald's, Gucci, and Adidas.

Sebastien Borget, COO and co-founder of The Sandbox, welcomed the partnership's enthusiasm, acknowledging the extraordinary opportunities for players to explore the interesting history, arts and culture exhibited by the museum.

"We are excited to be collaborating with the British Museum to share its outstanding collections with new players in cyberspace. This is a great opportunity for The Sandbox players, wherever they are, to study and enjoy the incredible collection of history, art and human culture at the British Museum," said Borget.

The museum spokespersons revealed that these cultural institutions want to explore innovative efforts to share their collections and connect with a wider audience.

Although this is the debut of the British Museum in the metaverse, this museum has shown its interest in previous digital innovations. Prior to working with The Sandbox, the art museum in London has managed to partner with LaColluction to create three NFT collections featuring the works of famous artists such as Katsushika Hokusai and Joseph Mallord William Turner.

Not only that, in 2021, the British Museum has also sold its first NFT with 200 digital postcards featuring the masterpiece of the Hokusai Katsushika, including the iconic work "Under the Wave, Off Kanagawa," better known as "The Great Wave." The museum has also presented 20 token versions of the works of British artist Joseph Mallord William Turner in the spring of 2022, including the stunning watercolor painting "A Storm (Shipwreck)" from 1823.

The drop in the British Museum in the world of NFT shows the interest of cultural institutions with blockchain technology and digital art. Not only British Museums, many other cultural institutions are starting to embrace the crypto ecosystem, signaling wider adoption of this new technology in the world of culture and art.