On April 12, IMVU and Nadya Tolokonnikova, creator of Pussy Riot, a Russian feminist punk-rock collective, announced the creation of a community space in the Web3 metaverse at the NFT NYC 2023 event.
According to Venture Beat, the Pussy Riot community space will launch in the IMVU 3D interactive chat game. Additionally, the first 5,000 users who visit the metaverse and complete a free mission will unlock an NFT designed by Tolokonnikova.
Using the metaverse to support various causes
The community space "Utopia: A Virtual Haven for All" aims to provide a unique and welcoming environment for all women, BIPOC, and people from the LGBTQIA+ community, where everyone can interact within a feminist church with ideologies similar to those championed by Pussy Riot.
Those wishing to visit Tolokonnikova's metaverse can do so beginning April 14 by logging into IMVU and creating a unique avatar to their liking.
According to Tolokonnikova, creating this digital space is the first step towards realizing her dream of building a “Pink Church of Feminism” that embraces all gender diversities in the real world.
"It's very exciting to launch Utopia in IMVU and make it feminist, queer, diverse and radical. I've always dreamed of creating a pink church of feminism, […] Eventually I will find a way to build it in real life. But the first step is to cast that vision into the metaverse.
Tolokonnikova is working on other projects
A true feminist activist, Tolokonnikova, who claims she was imprisoned for two years for protesting against the government of Russian President Vladimir Putin, noted that this is one of the first projects focused on the crypto ecosystem that she works to support LGBTQIA+ communities in Russia.
Tolokonnikova also said she is developing digital wearables with IMVU to support organizations like North Caucasus SOS, which helps gay men safely leave Chechnya, a Russian region of Russia where “gay people are in grave danger.”
Maura Welch, VP of Marketing at Together Labs, said they're excited to work with IMVU and Nadya to bring the artist's creations to the metaverse, welcoming all of her fans.
"Nadya has long loved the freedom and aesthetic possibilities of the IMVU metaverse, and so we've worked together on an extraordinary collaboration bringing Nadya's art and activism to life for IMVU's incredibly diverse and wildly creative community. We welcome Nadya fans to IMVU by joining her Utopia community,”
Members of the Tolokonnikova Church plan to host live events featuring various international speakers, as well as a music festival for the wider LGBTQIA+ community.