Welcome to this week's issue of the The Baking Sheet, your weekly newsletter for all the latest and greatest in the world of Tezos.  

Great work by the Tezos community to vote, Nairobi, has passed the exploration phase which is a strong signal that this proposal will be implemented. Only 6 days remaining in the cooldown period before the proposal moves to the final voting phase. 

Week by week, you can see the Tezos ecosystem evolve. This week we will focus on a Tezos hackathon hosted by Ubisoft, a new way to own shares in music, and an awesome community project inspired by Reddit's /r/place. 

HackArtX: Tezos and Ubisoft

Ubisoft's Strategic Innovation Lab is launching the first HackArtX Hackathon, a unique event inviting six top international digital artists to mentor teams in an immersive exploration of digital art in the blockchain space. The Hackathon aims to reshape the narrative of digital art in the era of Web3, encouraging participants to envision and create 'Living Artworks' that evolve and interact via blockchain technologies.

Shaping the Future of Living Art in the Web3 Era

Over a span of three days, teams will collaborate with artists to create immersive digital art pieces that represent the concept of living artwork in the Web3 era. HackArtX challenges participants to explore the meaning of "life" in the Web3 space and consider the use of blockchain as a living entity within the virtual world.

These artworks, titled “real-life data on-chain art”, “live-data driven on-chain art”, “sensors-driven on-chain art”, “oracle-driven interactive art”, or simply “dynamic NFT”, provide a unique, interactive experience for viewers, blurring the lines between art and technology.

Exploring Uncharted Territories with Renowned Digital Artists

For its maiden edition, the Hackathon features internationally acclaimed digital artists, including Harriet Davey, Johann Baron Lanteigne, Martina Menegon, Lauren Moffatt, Tabitha Swanson, and u2p050. These artists, in partnership with their respective teams, will utilize their artistic expertise and the mechanics of Web3 to bring their concepts to life.

An impressive array of mentors and jurors from the Tech & Art Worlds, including Tezos & Ubisoft Experts, and institutions at the crossroads of Art and Tech, such as HEK (House of Electronic Arts) and Light Art Space Foundation, are also on board to guide and judge the projects.

A Unique Experience for Tech Enthusiasts and Art Lovers

HackArtX offers an unparalleled opportunity for tech enthusiasts, art lovers, and those interested in the future of digital art, blockchain, and immersive technologies. The hackathon welcomes participants with a variety of skills ranging from Unreal engine and generative AI specialists to 3D animators, developers, and Unity experts.

The on-site Hackathon begins on Friday, June 16th, at 1:00pm CEST and concludes on Sunday, June 18th, at 7:00pm CEST. After the introductory event and team-building exercises on Friday, participants will have access to workshops and micro-trainings offered by mentors and speakers throughout the weekend.

Exciting Prizes and Rewards Await

Participants have the chance to win a cash prize of €15K equivalent in XTZ, with additional special prizes presented by key figures from the Art and Tech sectors.

With subscriptions open until May 26th and plenty of opportunities for learning, collaboration, and competition, HackArtX is the perfect opportunity for those interested in digital art and blockchain technologies to put their skills to the test.

However, interested participants should note that their registration doesn't guarantee participation as the organizing team will evaluate all entries and finalize the team selections by early June.

To learn more about the Hackathon and stay up to date with Ubisoft's projects, visit the HackArtX's official Discord channel. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind opportunity to shape the future of art and technology.

TLC Offers Fans Ownership Shares via Tezos

In an innovative move to enhance fan engagement, Grammy-winning R&B group TLC has announced a partnership with music royalties platform, SongVest and OneOf. The group plans to re-record their classic hits and offer fans the opportunity to own fractionalized royalties from these songs via Tezos. 

This initiative makes the connection between fan appreciation and royalties tangible, with fans now able to own a slice of their favorite songs and receive royalty payments. The newly minted 'SongShares', as they're called, represent SEC-qualified fractionalized shares of music royalty streams from newly-released versions of their beloved hits "No Scrubs," "Diggin' on You," and "Creep."

As part of this collaboration, TLC will share 50% of the streaming royalties generated from these fresh renditions of their hits with each NFT Royalty share transaction recorded on Tezos. This move comes as a testament to their continuous efforts to include fans in their journey, reinforcing their commitment to appreciating their fan base in tangible, financially rewarding ways.

SongVest will be making the TLC SongShares available through VIP Auctions on Friday, May 26. There will be 450 shares of "Creep - TLC Version," 200 shares of "Diggin’ On You - TLC Version," and 1,900 shares of "No Scrubs - TLC Version" up for grabs, with bidding for one share of any of the SongShares starting at $100 per share.

This initiative sets a precedent in the music industry, showing how artists can leverage blockchain technology to directly involve their fans and motivate them to share in the success of their career. With this innovative move, TLC and SongVest are pioneering a new era of fan engagement in the music industry, powered by Tezos. 

TezDev is Back

Developers, mark your calendars! #TezDev 2023 is back and set to happen in the city that has deep Tezos roots, Paris, on July 21, 2023. Known for its blend of technical sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, #TezDev is a pure Tezos experience for every participant.

TezDev 2023 will be packed with a myriad of activities designed to foster learning and innovation. Attendees will have the chance to participate in engaging workshops led by industry experts, technical talks, and networking opportunities.

Don't miss your chance to be part of this remarkable event. To register, please visit: https://tt-tezos.typeform.com/to/sNCWVhIF. 

This Week in the Tezos Ecosystem

Tezos Community Rewards Winners for April

April Winners for the Tezos Community Awards Program

Every month we distribute up to 5000 tez to the community for their contributions to the ecosystem

May Nominations are open — nominate on who you think deserves Tez for their contributions.

If you have any questions about the process, please feel free to contact us.

This Week in Tezos Development

Tezos Pixel War: Season 1 | Daniel Hines of Marigold

Daniel Hines, a developer at Marigold, recently announced the first season of "Tezos Pixel War," a unique interactive event inspired by Reddit's r/place project. The event will span 48 hours, during which participants can place pixels on a digital canvas. The site for the event is accessible through pixel-war.rollups.dev, which was built on a Tezos Smart Rollup.

To participate, users need to link their Twitter handle to a fresh public key by tweeting their signature, which will allow them to start placing pixels. At the end of the 48-hour period, Hines will shut down the sequencer, marking the end of Season 1.

The outcome of this digital endeavor will be compiled into a GIF, which will then be auctioned on the NFT platform objkt.com, supporting further developments in rollup technology. 

In terms of technology, the event utilizes a unique setup where users send a signed command to the sequencer after connecting Twitter with a fresh private key. The sequencer batches these into a Merkle tree, signs the root, and submits it as an L2 message to Tezos. While the rollup acts as the source of truth, the sequencer can provide instant results back to the user.

Regarding concerns about staking on the rollup, there is no staking involved as the rollup hasn't been audited yet. However, the system's kernel is upgradable, and with the community's support, it can be audited to allow the game to continue with L1 interactions.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about this awesome project on Tezos — feel free to contact Daniel via Twitter or Tezos Discord

Now Streaming

Join us for our next TezTalks featuring NFT Artist: thr33some3s

Join us as we sit down and chat with a popular Tezos NFT artist, thr33som3s. Thr33som3s is one of the most successful NFT artists on Tezos and will share his journey into the world of NFTs and Tezos. 

Now Streaming on YouTube