Video game graphics have always been an important part of the game development process. Publishers and developers rely on a game’s visual merit to build excitement and anticipation prerelease; gamers rely on quality graphics to help immerse them in the gaming world. Yet while every game contributes in its own way to the ever-growing gallery of interactive art, game graphics remains largely unacknowledged outside of gaming culture.

　　A small art space in Melbourne is hoping to change that. Since opening its doors in July 2010, ArtBoy Gallery has dedicated itself to promoting both amateur and professional artists whose work lies outside our traditional understanding art. The mix of urban and street art, photography, abstract and stencil art, graffiti, and pop art doesn’t come from art dealers or established promoters--it comes from art forums and websites. Now, the gallery's owners want to promote a new type of art that they believe could change public perceptions of gaming culture.

　　"Most of our time in the gallery is spent searching for new artists," one of ArtBoy’s founders Marc Huntington said. "Once we found our way to fan art sites, however, we realized there was an entire world of fan art out there that we were desperate to get into the gallery."

　　That's how Huntington came across Bruyn, a video game illustrator whose work had found its way onto the pages of game publications. Taking the artist under its wing, ArtBoy soon discovered a growing interest in video game art. Taking the feedback on board, Huntington devised the premise for FanBoy vs. ArtBoy: Videogames, an exhibition made up entirely of fan-made game art from professional, amateur, and hobby artists on any topic inspired by video game culture.

　　"Most of the time, people are too busy playing to actually stop and take in the surroundings of the world they are playing in," Huntington said. "Around here, whenever we play a game like Uncharted or Assassin's Creed, we usually catch ourselves paying more attention to the world from an artistic point of view rather than the actual gameplay. All of us at the gallery are keen gamers, and we all believe that we are in a kind of golden age where gamers are no longer 'in the closet.' We want to celebrate the fact that games are bigger than movies. Fan art is one way to pay homage and give a nod to the medium and the artists."

　　Huntington believes there is a lot of untapped talent out there without a proper vehicle for display. He hopes the upcoming ArtBoy exhibition can not only turn that around, but also draw attention to the sticky problem of video games as an art form.

　　"Gamer art goes largely unappreciated and unrecognized and is typically confined to Internet forums and desktops. We plan to show that video games do inspire great art and should be recognized as an art form. Just because it has been digitally created on a screen does not make it any less a work of art."

　　To help with this cause, ArtBoy is calling for contributors to the exhibition, which will take place March 11-14 in Melbourne. According to Huntington, anyone with a passion for game art can submit: The medium is open, from studio-quality imagery down to hand-drawn art.

　　All the work selected for the exhibition will be on sale, and the gallery will also be hand picking a few works for its permanent collection. For the future, Huntington has his sights set on a few other themed exhibitions, namely FanBoy vs. ArtBoy: Star Wars and perhaps FanBoy vs. ArtBoy: Comics. Regardless of how these plans turn out, he is confident that video game-inspired art will always have a home on ArtBoy's walls.

　　To submit work for consideration in FanBoy vs. ArtBoy: Videogames, visit the ArtBoy site. All entries need to be submitted by February 11.