Virtual Reality Art Gallery

The Technical Artistry, Modeling, Animation, & Concept (TAMAC) Guild is developing an interactive VR Art Gallery that showcases artwork created by Next Lab Associates and anyone in the community who wishes to join in and have their artwork featured. The gallery serves as a living and evolving space for digital creativity combining 2D, 3D, and interactive art into a VR experience with the help of the Unity Game Engine and the talented artists in the Next Lab community.

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Built in Unity, the VR Art Gallery allows visitors to walk through a digital space filled with student artwork either from past projects or from the ongoing art jams that the TAMAC Guild holds biweekly. The gallery features artwork of various mediums such as digital painting, sculpture, 3D animation, and some even being interactive. Users can interact with the gallery using VR controllers, engaging directly with artworks and exploring the creative process behind each piece.

The project not only showcases artistic talent but also acts as a technical training ground for students in modeling, animation, lighting, and UI/UX design within professional environments like Unity Game Engine.

Player Navigation and Interactions: In the gallery, people can move around using familiar VR controls such as smooth locomotion, and snap turning. As they explore, they can point at or interact with different pieces to move objects, play videos, and start animations or small interactive moments. The goal is to make the space feel welcoming and simple to navigate, even for someone who is brand new to VR.

Dynamic Art Showcase System: The gallery uses a flexible setup that lets the guild plug in new artwork without rebuilding the entire project, similar to a real-life art gallery where exhibits are constantly changing! 2D images, 3D models, animations, and interactive pieces from the guild’s biweekly art jams can be easily placed into the project and be shown in the next build. This makes the gallery feel alive and always evolving, as it can reflect the work students are creating right now instead of only showing older projects. 

Project showcase:

• Demo Video

Launch date:

• December 2025: 3Q Launch
• May 2025: Full Launch

Contributors & Credits:

• Joseph J Orta
• Spencer Erickson
• Kathleen Vela 
• Nicolette Lowery
• Shelby Cavanaugh Toft
• Sukhada Pande
• Ryann Woods-Sweeney
• Jesus Franco Yescas