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ART
By Mirrorcle Writer, Correspondent
The hot buzz in the Second Life (SL) art world centers on a project called the “Best of SL Art” by Enniv Zarf, CEO of Krystal Epic, and sponsored by Cyanide Seelowe and the Virtual Artist Alliance. Seelowe says this joint effort, “was like watching rivers merge—the goals of the two groups run parallel to one another, so the collaboration was a natural one.” These two organizations share a central goal to unify and strengthen the art world of SL with promotional and collaborative efforts which serve to enhance and assist the business of art. The Best of SL Art was put into effect for the purposes of promoting the SL art scene and to expose it to the public eye, both inside and outside the SL world. This objective is in perfect alignment with the mission of the Virtual Artist Alliance that serves artists by providing promotional assistance through various marketing means. Seelowe says, it’s a “combination of all (marketing) tools, rather than just sticking to one. If the press won’t come to you, why not go to them? I have created a template and a how-to article on creating a press package.” The website http://self-promotion.second-life-art.com offers useful marketing tips for artists such as advice on how to best utilize the group IM and Notice functions to reach a broader audience. Recognizing the disinclination of many artists to self-promote, Cyanide Seelowe, offers a remedy to help bridge that gap with her services which may be merely a “matter of encouraging some self-confidence since promoting one’s self is almost a taboo, but it’s really the best thing you can do for yourself.” It was through the Virtual Alliance website that the collaboration of Cyanide Seelowe and Enniv Zarf was born. The Best of SL Art Project, conceived by Enniv Zarf, is described as an effort “first and foremost to unite artists as a community—that is the essence of what I’m trying to do with Best of SL Art” The SL art scene is considered by some to be the backbone of SL’s growing culture and commerce. It is the most active community in SL, with multiple events taking place every day that span the genres of the visual, musical, performance and literary arts. Enniv Zarf seeks “to bring into the limelight the art community…. Most people don’t think of art in SL… yet the entire world here is art!” The constantly growing number of venues, patrons, participants and supporters of SL art support this activity. These are the people who give the art scene in SL its forward momentum, and it is through the Best in SL Art project that these individuals will see some recognition for the things that they accomplish. This project seeks to honor and unite artists in their creative endeavors. The nomination process is being held at the Krystal Epic website (art.krystalepic.com) and expands upon SL’s theme of user-created content. To nominate, one must register at the website and create a blog that describes the nominee’s accomplishments and what category they are being nominated for. Members of the art community then use these blogs as a basis for their votes. When the time comes, winners will be chosen based upon the votes given by the art community. Cyanide Seelowe reported over fifty nominees in late September with more expected at the last minute. Participants in the art community can nominate, or be nominated into one of four categories: Best Artist in the Performing Arts, Best Artist in the Creation Arts, Most Influential Venue Owner, and Most Influential Patron, Collector and/or Volunteer. All nominees are automatically entered into the Most Influential Avatar category. Says Cyanide, “It is through these categories that we hope to reach out to the most influential avatars in all available genres of art in Second Life, including fine art, music, literature, poetry, sculpture, machinima, theater, dance, experimental art forms, virtual installations and multimedia art forms.”
The mission statement of Enniv Zarf’s company is, “to promote the growth of the arts in Second Life and the internet as a whole.” The company seeks to serve as a catalyst to “help the business world and the art world to connect and join forces” and further solidify the Art/Business relationship. The schedule for the project is as follows:
You can see the current nominations at: http://art.krystalepic.com/index.php?q=node/23 Be sure to stop by the Krystal Epic Shopping Center at Spirit Fens to listen to Enniv Zarf’s piano playing, find out about the latest nominations, or just hang out for a night of music, machinima, dancing, and merry-making! * * * 
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The best of SL Art
Enniv Zarf reveres artists as the main creators in SL who “really bring to this world all the best works… best buildings, best graphics, best entertainment, best of everything…. As this is, after all, a user-generated world, artists tend to split their art from their business, which makes it even harder to help people realize that the driving force of SL is art.”