Technology

The Art4Sea Virtual Exhibition Platform is a digital space that mirrors the ocean’s power to connect, bringing together distant islands, cultures and creative voices into one shared immersive environment. The exhibition is designed as an underwater hub, where users are fully immersed beneath the ocean’s surface.
Twenty-four transparent bubbles float and drift gently in the surrounding space, each one representing access to a unique artwork experience.
More than just visual elements, the bubbles evoke the fragile balance of marine ecosystems: delicate, interconnected and suspended in constant motion. By interacting with them, the user becomes part of this balance, part of a system that requires attention, care and awareness of the ocean as a living, shared space. The virtual environment is accessed through a VR headset and relies entirely on hand-based interaction. No controllers are needed. Users engage with the exhibition through natural gestures, enhancing the sense of weightlessness and immersion. This intuitive system transforms the user from a passive observer into an active participant. Each bubble contains a 10-second video preview of the artwork it holds, offering a glimpse into its content. These previews are designed to spark curiosity and allow users to follow their interests, choosing which paths to explore in this open journey into ocean literacy.
The result is an immersive, fluid and open-ended journey. A virtual gallery that reflects the ocean not only in form but also in function. A space of connection, attention and discovery.

The Art4Sea Virtual Exhibition Platform for Meta Quest is available foe download here.

The Art4Sea Virtual Exhibition on Meta Horizon Worlds brings the creative and educational spirit of Art4Sea into the metaverse — transforming art and Ocean Literacy into a shared, interactive experience.
The exhibition is structured as a digital museum composed of interconnected rooms, each representing a different Mediterranean island: Ustica, Gozo, and Alonissos. Visitors enter through a central atrium with a symbolic water element — a virtual lake connecting the three island-themed areas and hosting the underwater sculptures, which symbolically emerge from the digital sea — before continuing through spaces displaying murals, sculptures, and digital artworks within a clean, contemporary gallery environment Each artwork is accompanied by interactive information panels that appear when visitors approach, offering descriptions, artist details, and contextual insights. A dedicated Science Hall complements the artistic spaces, featuring backlit panels explaining the principles of Ocean Literacy, along with a minimalist virtual lounge designed for discussion and exchange.
The experience is not only individual but also profoundly social and collaborative. Within Horizon Worlds, multiple visitors can explore the exhibition simultaneously, interact in real time, and share reflections through voice chat and spatial audio.
Accessible from VR headsets, mobile devices, and web browsers, the Art4Sea Virtual Exhibition invites users to engage with the ocean’s beauty and fragility through a digital environment that mirrors the values of connection, awareness, and collective responsibility.

Visit Art4Sea virtual Exhibition in the Metaverse here.