On December 2, NFT Steez presents Alyssa Expósito and Ray Salmond chatted with Victor Solomon to talk about her journey to marry her real life artwork with NFT and how she nurtures the community and culture that surrounds her.

Solomon’s work focuses on basketball, not just the object, but the sport itself. For Solomon, the inspiration for his work comes from his early childhood wanting to play hockey, a sport that was not accessible to him, and his eventual discovery of basketball, which he found to be more accommodating.

Solomon said:

“Basketball was a very inspiring platform for me as there are no barriers to entry.”

Solomon calls the open nature of basketball an “incredible parallel to everything that happens on Web3,” and throughout the episode explains the symbiotic relationship he’s experienced in building the VesselVerse, the basketball metaverse.

Bridging the gap between real life and digital spaces

When asked about the liberating elements of creating and iterating in Web3, Solomon drew attention to the “invigorating” nature of being able to create things that cannot exist in real life, such as a “planet inside a hollow basketball.” “but also the process of taking physical elements into digital and composite representations.

For Solomon, building a collection and a community to rally around it was second nature. His extensive experience in the traditional art world gave him the same vision and structure for how he launches digital collectibles.

Drawing inspiration from other NFT projects like Nouns, Solomon’s digital collection, VesselVerse works similarly to his real-life pieces, except a “vessel” or basketball is auctioned off every hour.

Unlike physical installations or exhibit pieces in a gallery, Solomon noted that creating within Web3 gives participants and collectors a broader voice in the direction of the work rather than a one-off experience.

Related: Comic-Con Guru Explains Why Storytelling Is The Key Component To Successful NFT Projects

Unlock collaboration within a community

When it comes to Web3 and the metaverse, a fundamental principle in a successful project or ecosystem is the community that surrounds it and builds alongside it. Solomon described how “exciting it is to be able to work side by side with a growing community” where diverse collectors allow for an “open forum to constantly visit, discuss and consider the direction of the project.”

Rather than avoid opening considerations up to the community, Solomon embraces the more decentralized aspects of building and unlocking the community in Web3. Solomon said:

“What appeals to me as a founder is unlocking that opportunity so everyone can have a voice.”

For Solomon, the juxtaposition of Web2 and Web3 has highlighted what he considers a “mass unlock.” As he describes, the collaborative character and “community spirit” has not been something that he has been able to experience in his physical work and it is “energizing.”

The biggest challenge Solomon currently faces is re-educating a segment of the ecosystem that may have had bad experiences in the cryptocurrency and NFT market. Nonetheless, Solomon suggests that the adversity is worth enduring as the promise of Web3 is far greater than any single negative experience.

To hear more of the conversation, tune in and listens Catch the full episode of NFT Steez and be sure to mark your calendars for the next episode on December 16 at 12pm ET.