From 2009 through through 2018, the University of Western Australia (UWA) was a name synonymous with patronage of the arts in Second Life.
The university first became involved in Second Life largely through the encouragement of faculty member Jayjay Zifanwe, and under his guidance and the curation of FreeWee Ling, UWA oversaw a series of art challenges that offered impressive cash rewards for 2D, 3D and machinima artists.
These Art and Grand Challenges yielded some of the most exceptional displays of art and creativity seen within – and beyond – Second Life, and became a hallmark for artistic excellence. Over the years, I attempted to cover down the years through this blog; however, from the end of 2015, UWA started a gradual winding-down of their operations in Second Life.
This started with the…