In China, RMB is the abbreviation of “renminbi”, literally, “people’s money”, and the name of the currency you use in that country. In Second Life, “RMB City” is the new project of my friend China Tracy. (New York Times sketch of the real life artist behind the avatar here.) Her “i.mirror” SL machinima was a hit at the prestigious Venice Biennale, and subsequently (as I later learned), was added to the gallery collection of a famed Italian fashion designer– perhaps the most prominent example of an SL-based artwork succeeding in the real world.

She’s built an early, “under construction” version of RMB City in Kula (direct teleport at this link), and just showed a version of it at the more recent Instanbul Biennale. This lovely machinima was actually created in another 3D engine, but it should give you an idea of what she’s planning to ultimately create in Second Life, a reworking of Beijing into a fantastic, dreamlike version of the city as it is, churning with new and old icons. I’d love to see this fully realized version in SL– and as it turns out, so would some major galleries in the art world.

“Paris Pompidou Centre and a couple major New York museums are planning to feature RMB City,” China tells me. But to make that happen, it’ll take a large crew of creators, which is why she’s looking for talented Residents to join the RMB City collaboration team.

She’s looking for builders and scripters, and if the project gets funding, some contract fees will probably be negotiable, she tells me. IM China Tracy or send email to sl.chinatracy [at] gmail.com. [blogged on New World Notes]