The Vatican will inaugurate an NFT gallery, to make all art, manuscripts and other objects held in the collection available to the general public. The project is a collaboration between Sensorium, a VR company, and Humanity 2.0, a Vatican-led non-profit organization that finds itself working towards "human flourishing," according to its website.
Humanity 2.0 is chaired by Father Philip Larrey, a unique presence in the Holy See. Father Larrey is the professor of Logic and Epistemology at the Vatican's Pontifical Lateran University, the dean of the philosophy department and the author of a number of books on the effect of technology on modern society and the philosophical implications of artificial intelligence.
“We look forward to working with Sensorium to explore ways to democratize art, making it more widely available to people around the world regardless of their socio-economic and geographical limitations. The partnership with Sensorium brings this goal a step further and equips us with the latest tech solutions.” Father Larrey said in a statement to the press.The gallery, which will be viewable through VR and on desktops, is expected to be available later this year. The Vatican is a repository of some of the world's finest art and objects. The Vatican museum was founded in the 16th century and has around 800 works of art, including works by Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael, as well as more modern works by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky and Vincent van Gogh. The Vatican press representative stated that NFTs will not be used to sell products or objects, although it is not clear what they will be used for.
“The nature of this project for Humanity 2.0. is exclusively social and not commercial. Also, here NFTs don't necessary have to come in a from of artworks, but can also include tickets and other objects.”
