Playboy Is Hosting A Virtual Art Gallery To Celebrate Its First NFT Collection

Playboy is the latest brand to claim stake in the crypto ecosystem, announcing its first-ever digital art collaboration with the blockchain-powered auction hub Nifty Gateway. Furthering their digital venture, the brand will be hosting a virtual art gallery to show off their NFT works in the Decentraland metaverse on May 4.

The upcoming virtual gallery showing will feature a range of original NFT art created by digital collage artist Slimesunday in collaboration with Playboy‘s editorial and archival curators, titled “Liquid Summer.” Each virtually-mastered piece centers on the juxtaposition between past and future — fusing Playboy‘s almost-70-year legacy of provocative entertainment with the power of crypto’s ever-evolving, new frontier.

“My process has always involved scanning images from magazines, so when Playboy offered full access to their archive everything really came full circle for me,” Slimesunday told HYPEBEAST. “Working with Executive Editor Liz Suman and the entire Playboy team has allowed me to get the full story behind each image in a deeper way than I normally would be able to.”

HYPEBEAST was given early access to the fully-customized gallery housed in a convention-sized building in Decentraland’s Crypto Valley. Upon entering, a floor-to-ceiling sign boasts the collection’s name alongside a polaroid image of Playboy‘s signature bunny motif with the caption “Playboy x Slimesunday May 2021.” The attached gallery rooms beckon newcomers, where each large-scale, virtual piece is displayed atop grey walls. Once guests have made their way through the entire collection, a co-branded bar awaits and is serving up virtual drinks. The space will also be used to facilitate a sequence of live events, including a DJ set from 3LAU and a conversation between Slimesunday and Suman.

“We wanted to make a big ‘splash’ with Playboy’s first collection of NFTs — and the first digital Playboy cover ever to be sold — so it just made sense for us to celebrate the launch in a virtual art gallery in the metaverse given how digital our last year has been,” Suman told HYPEBEAST.

“The digital gallery itself is awash with Liquid Summer and Slimesunday vibes, complete with floors that look like metallic water,” she continued. “And, of course, there’s the art itself, which features iconic Playboy imagery reimagined through the Slimesunday lens.”

Decentraland’s Dave Carr told HYPEBEAST that Playboy’s decision to host a virtual NFT gallery in Decentraland aligned with the brand’s creative edge. “Playboy has always been synonymous with innovation and pushing boundaries.”

In preparation for the launch, take a look at the full Playboy x Slimesunday collection on Playboy‘s website.

In other NFT news, the “Disaster Girl” meme just sold for almost $500,000 USD.