Here at themetabite.com we have previously looked at how the Metaverse might leave behind the baggage of today’s internet in order to create a diverse and inclusive digital world free from hate and bigotry. Now comes news that Meta (formerly Facebook) is looking to bring the very first mixed reality drag show to your virtual and augmented reality screens.
Titled ‘Queens of the Metaverse’, the show will feature the following iconic drag acts: Blu Hydrangea (recent winner of RuPaul's Drag Race UK spin-off RuPaul's Drag Race: UK vs the World), Tia Kofi (pop artist and Season 2 star of RuPaul’s Drag Race) and Adam All (performer, host, and one of the world’s most well-known drag kings).
Each artist will be paired up with an up-and-coming LGBTQ+ designer, and will use both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to create new looks. Blu Hydrangea will work alongside marketing, digital communications and business development professional Nwora Emenike, Tia Kofi will team up with gender-fluid NHS worker and life coach Sal Mohammed, and Adam All will collaborate with non-binary Central Saint Martins’ graduate Christie Lau. The teams will use Meta’s Quest 2 headsets and Horizon Workrooms virtual platform to exchange creative ideas. The digitally-designed garments will be turned into physical representations, that will be unveiled in September at an event in London, which will be hosted byGlow Up: Britain's Next Make-Up Star judge Dominic Skinner and directed by Matt Timmiss, a London-based film director specializing in queer films and drag community narratives.
Speaking about the show, Meta’s director of EMEA marketing, Ineke Paulsen said: “Creative communities are central to the development of the Metaverse, ensuring that we are building a space for each and every one of us”, and that the shows use of AR and VR technologies will “enable these creatives to take their imaginations further than they ever thought possible” , and “help the drag community and other creatives unleash their potential in new and exciting ways.”
Here at themetabite.com we hope that the ‘Queens of the Metaverse’, will, as well as promoting the use of virtual working environments and creative spaces in the Metaverse, open up further conversation about diversity and inclusion in the Metaverse, and the role that future titans of the Metaverse will have in creating a digital world free from hate and bigotry. Tia Kofi shares this sentiment in saying that “the best thing about technology is that it brings everyone closer together. During the pandemic, everybody had to get creative and use technology to stay in contact and keep drag alive. Imagine if we could have done that in virtual reality, feeling like we were all together, it would have been gorgeous. That’s the future.”
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