Phigitting at the MdM

 Light and compact, brightly colored, with three prongs in play, and never still for a moment... the buzzword 'phygital' put fidget spinners into my mind ...oh, the naughties! 'Phygital' is a portmanteau term is used to describe, until someone thinks of a less clunky term (and please do!), the fusing of activities going on at the same time in the physical world and on digital platforms. 

Come to think of it though, the Museo del Metaverso is compact, brightly colored, with three prongs in play - it's active in Craft grid in Opensim, and Spatial, a corporate-facing immersive VR platform, and in Second Life. 

Judging by the past year's activities at the Museo del Metaverso, called MdM for short, its founder Rosanna Galvani has been spinning up a huge success story with art shows, workshops, exhibitions, presentations, and conversations that bring together the realities in a masterclass of organization and commitment to education and art. 

Seen here at the Museo, dressed in dark business slacks with her signature top hat, Rosanna cuts a typically modern Italian figure of elegance with a touch of whimsicality that lifts the mood. The HG Address of the MdM is of course at the end of the post, where it belongs.

Rosanna Galvani

Rosanna Galvani: 2025 was both a fruitful and transitional year for us. My vision for virtual worlds is that they should be more than just a "niche" space but that they should take on greater cultural density: artists, curatorial projects, transmedia collaborations—all of this is growing. Over the past year, the Museo del Metaverso has become more 'phygital' with a range of voices and languages and different events. These include digital clothing, 3D installations, and live discussions between participants in real and virtual worlds.

MdM - Rededicated!

 The ribbon was cut today at the rededication ceremony of an old friend, the Museo del Metaverso on Craft Grid, now sporting a brand new look!

In a dark sky, just above the black waters of the sim, the new structure floats like a glass cage, full of movement and color, history and innovation.

Seaside Safari

Ernest Moncrieff: very 'hygge' here

This week's trip took us to a pair of maritime sims, first the bright  and beautiful city of Tromso, Norway, on CCI grid, then to Alanna, a boating venue on Craft Grid. HG Addresses, as usual, at the end of the post. 

SIWAS S: Welcome to Norge, I hope you will enjoy the stay

Beth Ghostraven: thanks SIWAS!

Ard Rhys: Hi Siwas

Angelic Kisses: Thank you

SoA BAD: welcome all

Girl Power

More woman, less violence! That's the unequivocal message of Rosanna Galvani and her group on the region Piu Donna Zero Violenza, over on Craft Grid. This year is their second festival, aimed at raising awareness of the need for men to be less idiotic, for women to seek their voice, and for a lot less horrible acts of violence in this world. If the theme appeals, then the artwork that you will find on this unusual and interesting region will provide further food for thought.

This region is home to a multi level exhibition area, including a performance space about halfway up the construction,  and a park-like area at ground level. 

Più Donna Zero Violenza - in Italian, you can write it like this "+donna 0violenza" - means more (plus) woman obviously zero violence. Rosanna is Italian, but this is an international project comprising a long series of artistic and social events. Alongside Rox you will find artists and performers who speak French, English, Portuguese, Hungarian, Spanish - the common tongue is equal rights for all. 

Performing in VWs by Laszlo Ordogh

 The following is a guest post by Velazquez Bonetto, in rl László Ördögh. Vela's long career in virtual worlds is best known for the many performances and presentations of the Cybernetic Art Research Project 'CARP'  which was founded in Second Life in 2007. Now based mostly on Craft Grid and a close collaborator with Rosanna Galvani and her Museo del Metaverso, Vela reflects here on aspects of performance in Virtual Worlds. 

The miracle that we are experiencing today: the Cyberspace, the dematerialized virtual time-space, the worldwide webbed society, where we surf at lightspeed. Any artist NOT using this virtual universe as a challenge and a goal does not deserve the name Avantgarde.

Velazquez and colleague Rosanna Galvani, on Craft Grid, 2022

Why work in Virtual worlds?

1: Everything built in virtual worlds has no material consequences. Everything is Illusion but is useful as a model situation.
2: There is a unbelievable potential in variability and flexibility.
3: Nowhere else you can express and experiment new ideas and thoughts in such a fast spontaneous way. For creative people this world is a  playground to model new situations and experiment with them.

Safari crosses over

            Institutions. We all love them, and most of us belong in one. This week three SL/opensim crossovers were our destinations, each one an epic in its own way. First up,  Seanchai Library which this month celebrates seven years since it was founded in Second Life. That's a big deal when you think of all the performances that this group has put on, and all the money they have collected for charity too. We met on sim Inis Arcain in Kitely to hear the short story 'The Bard' performed by Caledonia Skytower. This is a tale of druids and warriors and ancient angst, and one of the most memorable menacing laughs in the metaverse.

          Caledonia set things up so we could hear her via streaming anywhere on the sim, making it possible to go wandering around the build without missing any of the story, also making it easier on those of us who find that Voice does not work well when