Tomb Raider was first unleashed on the world in October 1996, manifested from fantasy to reality by creator Toby Gard and the talented crew at Core Design. Little did they know how successful their adventurer would become; skyrocketed to become a household name within the year and carving a place in history as a pop-culture icon transcending the gaming space.

To celebrate the 15 year anniversary Crystal Dynamics, a Square Enix Group Studio is playing curator to a unique digital art exhibition, commissioning eight original pieces of art to be created by a selection of esteemed artists and released during the month of October.

The pieces will be created to showcase the new vision for Lara Croft in the eagerly anticipated new Tomb Raider game, whilst embracing the individual style of each of the selected artists.

The exhibition will begin on October 4th and starts with a piece created by esteemed artist Andy Park, artist on the original Tomb Raider comic book series. The month ends with a featured piece by Toby Gard, creator of the Tomb Raider series.

All art can be viewed over the course of the month.

“This is the perfect opportunity to celebrate Tomb Raider’s history by looking at Lara’s promising future,” said Karl Stewart, Global Brand Director, Crystal Dynamics. “We can’t wait to share each artist’s unique interpretation of what it means to be Lara Croft.”

During the month a series of events will be held to mark the celebration, including a signing by artists at New York Comicon on October 14th

As a finale to the event, a limited selection of T-shirts and posters will be available for purchase from The Nerd Machine’s website with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Child’s Play charity.

To date, the Tomb Raider franchise has sold over 35 million copies worldwide as of Oct 2011 and inspired one of the most successful video game film adaptation in history, grossing over $300 million at the box office worldwide.