Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

From 2009 through through 2018, the University of Western Australia (UWA) was a name synonymous with patronage of the arts in Second Life.

The university first became involved in Second Life largely through the encouragement of faculty member Jayjay Zifanwe, and under his guidance and the curation of FreeWee Ling, UWA oversaw a series of art challenges that offered impressive cash rewards for 2D, 3D and machinima artists.

These Art and Grand Challenges yielded some of the most exceptional displays of art and creativity seen within – and beyond – Second Life, and became a hallmark for artistic excellence.  Over the years, I attempted to cover down the years through this blog; however, from the end of 2015, UWA started a gradual winding-down of their operations in Second Life.

This started with the ending of their direct sponsorship of their art challenges with the Pursue Impossible challenge (see Pursue Impossible: celebrating art and machinima in Second Life), after which, events continued to be run, albeit without a cash prize incentive. Then in 2016, it was announced that four of the five regions operated by the university would be closing – although this was extended through to mid-2017 n (see UWA to scale back in Second Life and All UWA regions to remain in Second Life through mid-2017), allowing one more prize-based challenge  – sponsored through the generosity of LaPiscean Liberty – to take place (see UWA’s Transformations in Second Life).

Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end, and the time is coming to say farewell to the last remaining UWA region – and in order to do so, a final art exhibition is to take place in the UWA’s exhibition space over the region.

Open to all 2D and 3D artists, the exhibition has been entitled Gratitude. It is being organised with the approval of the UWA by Chuck Clip, who describes the event thus:

This is a grand finale, a sad farewell to show our gratitude to UWA and all that they did for us as artists, curators, and residents of SL. Their work brought life and beauty to all of us and made the art world in Second Life a thing to behold. Why The Theme “Gratitude”? For over a decade, the University of Western Australia has been synonymous in the minds of many residents of Second Life with the arts and the support thereof. Their work was unparalleled on the grid, and made waves in the art world that, even as they prepare to close their sim, resonate through the art world today.

There are so many people whose lives they touched in one way or another. So many artists found inspiration in their 3D Art Challenge themes, and support in the encouragement of the community they created. Let us all come together this one last time to say thank you to the men and women of this great institution, to celebrate their achievements, their impact on our own achievements, and to mourn their departure.

– Chuck Clip, via note card

Those wishing to participate in this special event should note the following:

• The event is open to all Second Life 2D and 3D artists, but is limited to one entry per artist.
• Artists will be given a maximum of 150 LI with which to realise their work.
• Entries should be able to be interpreted by the casual viewer as being representative of the theme of Gratitude. Where the link to the theme is difficult to ascertain, this should be referenced in a note card accompanying the work.
• All entries must be submitted no later than 23:59 SLT on Sunday, November 1st, 2020 via the official UWA Art Show Submissions boxes (see below).
• All entries must be accompanied by a note card containing: the artist’s name and a brief biography; the name of the submitted art (this should match the actual name of the piece as an object); a description of the piece; any landmark to more of the artist’s work, if applicable.
• The exhibition will open at 12:00 noon SLT on Wednesday, November 11th, 2020, and will be marked by a special opening event with live entertainment, and will close on December 30th, 2020.
• The region is currently set to close on December 31st, 2020, and art will be cleared prior to this occurring.

How to Enter

• Place the artwork and covering note card in the UWA Art Show Submissions boxes located in the following regions:
  • University of Western Australia.
  • Sinful Retreat landing point.
  • To submit entries, left-click on the entry and HOLD the mouse button down, then press CTRL and drag the entry to the Art Show Submissions box. When the cursor is over the box (red outlines should appear around the receiver box), release your left mouse button and the item is received.
  • Repeat the above for the note card as well.
• If you have problems with the box give artwork to Chuck Clip along with  a note card containing your name, together with the art.

General Rules

1. Any style of 2D and 3D artwork can be submitted, provided it is in keeping with the exhibition theme and meets the General maturity rating for the UWA region and in accordance with Linden Lab’s Terms of Service and Community Standards. Items can be static or animated.
2. In addition:
   • All entries cannot exceed a maximum of 20×20 metres.
   • If scripts are used, they should be kept too a run time of 0.2ms (0.5ms  maximum). Anything above this must include an on/off on touch with time out of up to 10 minutes.
3. By submitting an entry, you are giving permission to the University of Western Australia and Chuck Clip to place the objects anywhere on the UWA region, and to have information and images of the entries placed on UWA websites and on websites promoting the UWA region or events held on the UWA region or to be filmed for machinima purposes.
4. All work must be original. Renderings of works by others, in part or in whole, whether or not they are under copyright, should be acknowledged and permissions secured when appropriate.