This is the second monthly report of the ZBG -
Overview
September 2021 continued the slow & steady pattern of August, however it is becoming clear that there are some obstacles to engaging the community with the existing approach.
Thus far we have tried a number of large scale outreach partnerships with IRL arts & music events and to be frank the response was underwhelming at best.
Cambridge has a full schedule of monthly/weekly arts/music/cultural events and the strategy has been to seek joint venture partnerships with these events and to piggyback on their momentum to access large numbers of creatives.
This strategy will continue, but it is evident that we are just not a priority to these organisations, even when offering to fund fringe events and educational workshops, or - in the case of a recent large scale public arts charity auction initiative - to do all the work required to tokenize their auction pieces and run a parallel NFT auction on mintbase. [NGMI ?]
(This reflects a continuation of the pattern of thought from August…ie that the ZBG is a peripheral “fringe” organisation…and perhaps we should embrace that “outsider” vibe rather than try to work inside the mainstream.)
So…along with the current strategy…we are going to go back to basics…and build more organically on a micro level…engaging directly with individual creatives both on social media and IRL… and to try running our own small scale events.
To this end, we have been researching locations for a pop-up gallery/exhibition/educational space, and contacting commercial property agents and landlords for this purpose. There is enough vacant commercial property that we should be able to find space very cheaply [rates only] to run flash events
The secondary issue that needs consideration is the Council. In September we were still seeking a third council member, and the idea has obviously been to recruit someone from the Cambridge area, however this may take some time. So, we are going to give some consideration to asking somebody from the near community to be temporary council until we find a candidate.
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Guild activities update:
As of September 30th the balance of funds in the DAO was: 523.10 Nr
There are commitments of 70N relating to August budget items - however given the appreciation in Near’s value, one of these can be halved to 10N from 20N so the total committed but not claimed is 60N.
The net balance is therefore 463.10.
Details of activities and spend in September - converted to USD
Social Media: -
Twitter is operating on an embryonic level only, and the proposed monthly management payment will be reduced accordingly to $65
Instagram- remains not launched - budget reserved.
Identifiers:
We have not received the full set of identifiers as yet, so no further payment is due. This was part of the August budget and has funds set aside.
Event/physical meeting costs
There were 4 physical meetings/site visits of the council in September - we meet once per week on-site. The total cost converted to dollars for expenses is $140
Mintbase Smart Contract / Store
Funds remain reserved and will be deployed when we have participants.
Onboarding
No budget spent as yet. Funds will continue to be held in reserve for this purpose.
Community Facilitation by Council
Despite the relative lack of concrete progress, a degree of time & effort has gone into trying to grow the Guild through outreach partnerships, and the search for physical gallery space. Although a budget of £100/$140 per week would not represent the true cost in time/effort…given the current status of the guild and the relatively small budget commitments being made… it would be a fair nominal payment in recognition for work undertaken.
Total of payments to be proposed as above: $765 = approx 100N - Binance 4th October 2021 11.30 am BST
This will leave the remaining DAO funds at 423.10 with prior commitments of 60N - Net balance of 363.10 Nr.
An October budget request is being prepared.
thnx
Keep up the fight!