Press Release

Written by @timongty

Hic Et Nunc: Community-Led Growth through the Hicathon

Since its launch on 1 March 2021, the Tezos NFT platform Hic Et Nunc (H=N) has reserved a special place in artists’ hearts as a bastion of creative expression amidst a metaverse rife with commercialisation. H=N's decentralised, open-sourced, and eco-friendly nature garnered the attention of many artists worldwide, and a nascent bohemian NFT culture gradually started to form among this diverse and creative group. 

In an endeavour to further support the development of this platform that many have come to love and appreciate, the community rallied and started a hackathon - the Hicathon - in May that was purely volunteer-driven and centred on strong ethical values. With over 150 participants, the Hicathon was bolstered by generous grants from the Tezos Foundation and Tezos Commons, along with support from the artist and collectors community with over 650 NFTs donated.   

This ground-up development stands in stark contrast to the VC-backed NFT marketplaces on other blockchains; it represents a unique convergence of ideals and beliefs in building something for the community by the community. 

In this way, the Hicathon in May gave a voice and pencil to the H=N community and empowered members to decide what should be done next. It is no surprise then that the Hicathon greatly contributed to the artists and developers ecosystem surrounding H=N with the creation of multiple essential tools, decentralised apps, new websites and resources. The community also served as a social experiment in self-organisation and finding consensus by collectively writing a manifesto by participants from over 70 countries worldwide, designing a future DAO in the process.

Continuing to build upon previous successes from May, the post-Hicathon held throughout September adopted a community-led governance model to determine the most significant issues. Working groups used Henvote.xyz, a decentralised voting tool, to receive direct feedback from the community on key decisions which would shape the main direction the groups would work toward. 

Among these much-awaited completed features was the collaboration smart contract that allowed sales to be split among multiple verified artists registered on the NFT. The introduction of this feature would undoubtedly be a gamechanger in the NFT space and lead to increased collaborations and partnerships between artists in a trustless system.

The H=N manifesto was also completed at great lengths as the community collectively settled on a strong ethical vision that would help guide the platform forward in consideration of the future of art and the planet.

Many other general issues were resolved throughout the Hicathon, from optimising the UI/UX for a better user experience to automated mechanisms that tackled malicious copyminters. In addition, the developer ecosystem surrounding H=N, which plays a crucial role in developing important tools, was further refined with coding tutorials and incentives to reward active members. 

Another intrepid team explored the development of an experimental and fully immersive H=N metaverse through the concept of planet-crafting, where every Tezos wallet address belongs to a unique planet, and Objkts are displayed virtually in a 3D world. 

NFT history was also minted with the development and inclusion of HEN Radio to H=N, raising the profile of music NFTs and placing them alongside visual NFTs. Music artists, who are often underrepresented, are thus empowered to take ownership of their creations and potentially transform the music industry. 

As a microcosm of H=N, the post-Hicathon has brought together a diverse group of talented individuals worldwide and has more than achieved its intended goals through a creative, decentralised, and self-organised manner. Along this journey, an esprit de corps was progressively forged among the community members through shared experiences, connecting everyone beyond the constraints of geography and culture.  

From here and now, the ethos of H=N remains steadfast, and the Tezos-built platform is poised to grow further even amidst the competitive NFT landscape.  

List of website and tools created in the context of the hicathon: