Jamaican-born fashion designer, Nova Lorraine, who is originally from Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, is one of the 222 artists from around the world selected to be part of The Lunaprise Moon Museum. This is an unprecedented project that stands at the intersection of art and space exploration. The project succeeded in landing its payload on the moon on February 22, 2024, to establish a lunar repository for human culture that will last for more than a billion years. The museum is part of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The February 2024 landing was the first moon landing in more than 50 years.
Curated by Space Blue and BitBasel
The Lunaprise Museum was created by Space Blue, a privately held international art, media, and production enterprise founded by the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) Advisory group at NFT Blue. It seeks to unite art, technology, and space enthusiasts to create a unique artist platform to support humanity while promoting a sustainable future. The museum collection includes digital, holographic, and engraved artwork, along with sports collectibles, coins, stamps, historic speeches, and more. Using advanced compression and engraving technology, the artworks were etched onto nickel discs to ensure their preservation. According to its website, BitBasel is a “Crypto Art & NFT community hub for artists and developers” that was established in 2020. The organizations’ payload, an indestructible time capsule, contained more than 77,000 “Lunagrams,” multimedia digital artifacts that contain more than 30,000 years of human culture. BitBasel is the official marketing partner for the Lunaprise endeavor.
Designer’s thoughts on the moon exhibit
Commenting on the unique experience of having her art on the moon, Lorraine noted that her journey as the first Jamaican fashion designer to have her art in such a unique location represented a “beacon” for women in technology and aspiring artists who “dare to dream beyond the stars.” She also emphasized the importance of “dreaming big” and breaking barriers, concepts she has known throughout her career.
She chose fashion over medicine
Nova Lorraine’s Jamaican heritage has deep roots, and her life is marked with high achievement. She cites her upbringing as her inspiration to lead by example. Lorraine originally pursued a career as a clinical psychologist, obtaining scholarships to support her undergraduate and master’s degrees at the University of Connecticut. She earned a doctorate before moving into fashion, design, and technology, which she studied at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology. She describes the transition to fashion from clinical psychology as “a revelation,” “a divine download,” and “a divine calling” that led her to change her career path. She also noted that choosing fashion over medicine was a difficult decision, but once committed to the idea, she has never regretted it.
Intrigued by futurism
Always interested in futurism, Lorraine launched Raine Magazine in 2007, which was a manifestation of her fusing of fashion, culture, and technology. She was introduced to blockchain technology via Bitcoin in 2013, and by 2017, she was sold on the potential of the digital era. Her experience as a speaker, creator, advisor, and educator brought her to the attention of BitBasel, which encouraged her to submit her work to a contest that focused on impact. Her submission was accepted, and she was named an ambassador who represented sustainability in the international arts community, which had the collective vision of a preservation project that would be sent to the moon.
Her art is now digitally preserved
Lorraine’s art agent, Karleen Hemrick, called the designer “a trendsetter in every sense” and noted her tenacity in overcoming obstacles and her commitment to the goals she has set. According to Hemrick, the inclusion of Lorraine in the historic moon project is just a small part of the artist’s wider impact. Now that Lorraine’s artwork is digitally preserved in the Lunaprise Museum, it is also part of the plans for a physical display as well. Lorraine said, the art “will grace the runways” in future exhibits allowing people to witness the current state of humanity on the moon. Emphasizing the need to preserve humanity, culture, and art beyond the current technological era, Lorraine added, “Art can endure for billions of years, serving as a testament to our existence and impact.”
Photo – Raine Magazine
