Alex Riverstone sent me an invite to visit his Sugarfish Village, which opened its doors on October 8th, 2024, with a celebration of art running through until the end of the month entitled the Sugarfish Village Art Walk, run in collaboration of Michiel Bechir.
The Village sits within a tropical location at ground level below Alex’s Sugarfish Photography gallery, a place I first visited in July of 2024 (see: A Sugarfish Gallery in Second Life), and offers a number of attractions and points of interest and fun. First among these are the studio spaces, available for artists to use for up to 3 months at a time, rent-free – for more on this see below.
For the Art Walk event, invited artists have been able to set-out their art along the sands and flagstones of the beach, with each artist allocated space for four pieces each. Those participating are: ArtemisDemeter, KharisAdrasteia, TaniaAltAlbatros, YsabellaRose, Alex Riverstone, Ceakay Ballyhoo, Franny Fairywren, Georgie Iceghost, Karsten Iceghost, Lalie Sorbet, Maggie Runo, Noa Cloud, Prins Evergarden, Raven Arcana, Shosha Stransky, Therese Carfagno, Thomaz Blackburn, and Zia Branner. Given this list, the art is diverse, covering Second Life landscapes, avatar studies, and physical world art uploaded to Second Life.
The studio spaces, meanwhile, take the form of shipping containers converted for land-based use. Each is raised on legs and has a deck fronting it, allowing artists to use both the interior and exterior space (such as for seating in the case of the deck). A very generous 100 LI per unit is provided – although Alex informs me this may vary, depending on what else is set-up with the Village. Other details of note on the use the studios includes:
- Units are offered on a quarterly basis, with quarters commencing on the first day of January, April, July and October each year. Available units can be requested at any time during the given quarter.
- Artists are allowed to sell their art and decorate the interiors of their studio, if they wish. A request to staff can be made to have interior colours in the containers changed as well.
- All images must conform with the Second Life Terms of Service. Images depicting ageplay, sex, pornography, racism, hatred or of a political nature will not be allowed.
- Nudity is allowed, within the bounds stated above.
- The emphasis is on art and photography created in the physical world or Second Life; images created using AI or similar tools is not allowed. The focus of the Village is the talent of and techniques used by photographers.
A full notecard on displaying at the Village is available on request.
As well as the studios and the open-air exhibitions space along the sands, the Village boasts the O-Shen Diner sitting to one end of the studio containers. Set back a short way from the beach and reach via steps is the cosy little Tick Tock Café with seating indoors and out and a dance area just below it, between it and the beach (and presumably for opening events or just a little dance hang-out.
There’s also something of a clubhouse where people can hang out, complete with table games and fishing, and which has an over-the-water deck behind it offering another place to hang out. For those feeling energetic there also are rock walls behind the clubhouse, while a swan boat rezzer is available alongside the deck for those wanting to go a-paddling on the waters of the bay.
In all, Sugarfish Village makes for an engaging place to both visit and appreciate art, and to display your own art if you are an artist / photographer. Highly recommended.
SLurl Details
- Sugarfish Village (Forgotten Tales, rated adult)
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