[IMPACT]

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), an area with exponential growth, experienced a growth rate of 5,000% in 2021 and hit $25 billion in sales from $0,5 billion in 2020 (DappRadar). Galaxy of Art (GoA) aims to further extend this area by adding a dimension that is missing from existing NFT marketplaces and represents a niche. In doing so, it seeks to assist Cardano to significantly increase its market share in NFTs ecosystem.

GoA will design, implement, and integrate a virtual exhibition space with its Cardano based NFT marketplace. Existing NFT marketplaces display static information about artworks and limit the interaction among users (e.g. buyers to artist, artist to artist). Thus, a potential buyer does not have the opportunity to interact and engage in an efficient way with an artist or his/her audience. Research demonstrates that people prefer a more interactive and social mode of communication with artists especially when they are willing to invest in an NFT. According to Wunderman Thompson Intelligence (2021), 76% of online users prefer video interactivity to allow for more natural everyday interactions.

Despite the existing successful NFT practice, increased engagement and interactivity is expected to significantly multiply NFTs sales, introduce new business models, and open new horizons in this area. We can draw parallels and adapt practices from other areas such as online gaming where live events boost engagement and convert community attention into digital items (e.g. NFTs) purchases. It is estimated that in-game purchases will be 95% in 2025 from 20% in 2010. Likewise, we forecast that virtual rooms, and exhibition spaces will set the scene for the next era of NFTs marketplaces and advance socializing, networking, training, and NFTs trading. All these pave the way to combine technologies in a more advanced way to achieve higher volumes of transactions in NFTs marketplaces. We envision that the proposed building block will be part of our broader vision for a Metaverse Galaxy of Art.

Virtual rooms and exhibition space features and functionality

Our goal is to develop a solution that provides virtual rooms with incorporated tools/features for artists to interact with users. This solution will be integrated with our existing NFT marketplace (MVP at www.galaxyof.art) and it will be partially open source.

Based on their features, Virtual ROoms/Exhibition Spaces (aka Veroes) are classified into four categories:

· Veroes for free: Some rooms will be available for free to allow artists to exhibit their artworks and donate part of their income for social good (e.g. children in need, war refugees, cancer fighters, charity etc.). Galaxy of art will also use some of these rooms to interact with users and run various events.

· Veroes for rent: Artists can rent Veroes on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis and use them to interact with their audience or potential buyers. Additionally, artists will be able to choose a rental package (silver, gold, and platinum).

· Veroes for sale: Artists may buy Veroes and use it in a similar way to rentals. In addition, they will have the option to let their Veroes to other artists for a specific period of time or resell them. In doing so, they will be able to negotiate the rental or sale price.

· Veroes for lease: Users will also have the opportunity to lease Veroes but will not have the option to rent it to other entities during leasing.

The proposed solution will have the following functionality:

· Access Veroes: access is granted through GoA marketplace (www.galaxyof.art)

· Manage Veroes: This includes:

(a) Setup Veroes packages (silver, gold, platinum) and their attributes

(b) Dynamic calculation of price based on a model that takes into consideration demand and supply (applicable for those Veroes that are not part of a package).

(c) Setup online point of Veroes sale/rental/leasing through which artists can make their options

(d) Operate online point of Veroes sale/rental/leasing

· Rent/sell/lease Veroes

· Request Veroes for free: artists can post their intention to use Veroes for free to organize an event for social good.

· Vote: GoA users can go through the Veroes for free proposals and vote/approve the best of them

Veroes tenant/owner functionality: Veroes will offer the opportunity to artists to enhance their interaction with end users. The concept is to allow artists to create their own virtual exhibitions in which they will be able to illustrate their NFTs, announce the launch of new (e.g. unique/rare) NFTs, present their new collection, communicate with audience and answer their questions, facilitate networking, do airdrops, exchange NFTs, run auctions, do training activities etc.

Veroes will allow artists to:

· Create own exhibition to display NFTs in a private space,

· Customize: Tenants or owners will be able to customize their space according to their preferences. This will include the layout of the exhibition/room, background etc.

· Communicate and interact with end user and audience through video and audio

· Use live streaming to increase interaction

· Share pictures, videos, newsletters,

· Organize discussions to explain NFT designs from an artistic point of view.

· Invite other artists and ask them to comment on the artworks

· Present a new collection or new unique NFTs

· Enhance collaboration and networking with audience and other artists

· Promote the exhibition through various campaigns

· Invite people to attend for free

· Sell subscriptions to the potential visitors (general public should buy a ticket for a small amount in order to participate).

· Announce the exhibition

· Offer mystery box(es)

· Airdrop NFTs

· Sell NFTs

· Exchange NFTs

· Run NFTs auctions

· Perform education and training activities

· Digital subscriptions and invitations for an exhibition will be designed by the artists themselves and we will be NFTs. These can be later exchanged or traded by their owners.

The proposal is submitted under the F8: DApps and Integrations challenge. The latter is suitable for blockchain companies that already have deployed MVPs. Galaxy of Art (GoA) launched its NFT marketplace in early 2022 and it is considered as suitable for this challenge as it has already have an MVP and a competent team. One of the team members is Dr. Marwan Al Zarouni, CEO of Dubai blockchain center, who was recently voted as one of the top 100 people in blockchain (https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2022/marwan-alzarouni).

In regard to the guiding questions for this campaign, our proposal focuses on applications that could deliver highest amount of value by designing and delivering a profitable application that will significantly increase Cardano based NFTs adoption and user engagement in the Cardano GoA NFT marketplace. The proposed solution will be integrated with our marketplace. The end outcome will be increased utility and adoption of Cardano and it is expected to attract users to the platform and significantly increase their number.

The biggest challenge is to convince artists and users to adopt the proposed solution. Many people may not understand the power of interactivity and engagement in NFT marketplace. This is reasonable as we are introducing a new concept and there will be therefore increased resistance to change. For that reason, we are planning to increase awareness and educate our audience through a series of actions that include:

· GoA aims to use free Veroes to organize events and invite artists and users to attend. During these events we will have airdrops, mystery boxes, present unique NFTs designed for these events, organize thematic NFT exhibitions, invite speakers who explain the importance of Veroes, facilitate discussions among artists and networking.

· Offer free Veroes to our artists for a limited period

· Offer additional training and support to artists on how to run their virtual exhibition

· Increase social media interaction and update GoA funs about this new application and its importance.

· Develop short educational videos

· Newsletters with relevant material, data from the first Veroes, best practices, successful Veroes that took place etc.

· Issue NFTs to signify the launch of Veroes and airdrop them through GoA marketplace.

Another risk is related to the implementation time and budget. We will be operating under strict time-schedule and there is always a risk to have delays. For this reason, we are thinking to add more programmers in case is needed to deliver the project on time. In case we need additional budget we will select to pay using our GoA utility token or issue and sell unique NFTs for this instance.

[FEASIBILITY]

Roadmap

Month 1: Veroes design

Month 2-4: Implementation and integration

Month 5-6: Testing

End of month 6: Launch Veroes

Our plan is organized around the phases of the project.

· Veroes design: The detailed design of the product will carried out during this phase and will include the architectural design. Duration 1 month – Deliverable: Architectural design

· Backend implementation: the various backend functions of the application will be implemented. Duration 3 months - Deliverable: Backend code

· Front end design and development will focus on the graphical user interface and the exhibition space. Duration 3 months - Deliverable: user interface

· Integration: The various components of the proposed solution will be integrated with the existing Galaxy of Art NFT marketplace. Duration 2 months – Deliverable integrated software

· Testing: Once all pieces of Veroes are integrated and in place, the testing of environment will take place. Duration 2 months - Deliverable: test deliverable

· Development of educational and marketing material. Duration 1 month – Deliverable: educational videos and marketing material.

It is worth noting that some of the above phases will run in parallel. The overall duration of the project will be 6 calendar months in total.

For the proposed project we will need the following budget

· Designer and system architect (1 x $3500 x 3 months) = $10500

· Front end programmers (2 x $3250 x 6 months) = $39000

· Back end programmer (1 x $3500 x 6 months) = $21000

· Cardano blockchain and plutus smart contract programmer = ( 1 x $4000 x 6) = $24000

· Integration (1 x $3500 x 3 months) = $10500

· Testing (1 x $3500 x 2 months) = $7000

· Project management (1 x $3500 x 6 months) = $21000

· Marketing =$13000

· Total budget = $146000

Dr. Maria Papadaki CEO & Co-Founder is an Associate Professor at the British University in Dubai (BUiD) and a Managing Director for the BUiD_Centre for Risk and Innovation (DCRI). She has over ten years of experience in Risk Management from both Academia and Industry, with numerous years in the implementation, development, improvement, and management of risk frameworks, tools, and software’s in the Aerospace Industry. Maria worked previously in Rolls-Royce plc and the University of Manchester, leading different Enterprise Risk Management, Project Management, and Supply chain risk roles. In 2015, She initiated the idea and led the development of the first innovation Hub (H2B) for start-ups in Crete, Greece, on behalf of the Heraklion Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Maria led the development of blockchain digital certificates for BUiD’s graduates, making the university 1st in the Middle East and 3rd in the world implementing Blockchain technology in education. Maria is a TEDEX speaker, with a vision to promote accessible education and knowledge transfer through developing a global university fully operated by Blockchain. Finally, Maria is appointed as a Board of Directors for the Institute of Risk Management (IRM) in London since 2018 and holds a position as a visiting lecturer at The University of Manchester. LinkedIn

Dr. Marwan Alzarouni CSO & Co-Founder: is an internationally recognized advisor on blockchain use cases*.* Dr. Marwan Alzarouni is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cryptocurrencies. He is the CEO of Dubai Blockchain Center and the Director of information Services at Digital Dubai and a member of Dubai Future Council for Blockchain and is the lead for the Digital Asset Task Force (DATF). Dr. Alzarouni is also the Managing Partner at Accelliance Consultancy which regularly conducts research and studies into the applicable use cases for blockchain technology and aids in creating toolkits that can be tested and implemented by various businesses and government entities worldwide. Dr. Alzarouni is also the Co-founder and Advisor to the Galaxy of Arts, a newly established NFT Art Marketplace and social platform based in Dubai and specializing in NFT based Art. He is recently ranked as 84th out of 100 contributors to blockchain (https://cointelegraph.com/top-people-in-crypto-and-blockchain-2022/marwan-alzarouni). LinkedIn

Christian Schmitt CTO & Founder is an entrepreneur from Germany. He studied Industrial Engineering and worked in different fields in IT consulting and project management for companies like Liebherr Aerospace. His obsession with blockchain began in the early years of Bitcoin. Easy to use processes drive him to get the most out of the technologies and he thinks two steps ahead to bring an excellent product to the blockchain community. He enjoys doing new things, loves to innovate. LinkedIn

Edward Logan CEO USA and COO: is a top-performing, solutions-driven senior executive/ director with 18+ years ́experience leading organizations in highly competitive environments through portfolio/program/ project management. Edward Logan is a Senior Executive and Chief Development Officer. He is responsible for leading the business development and capturing execution of the company’s short and long-term marketing strategies and developing strategic partnership with customers. Expertise across full range of Electronic Discovery Reference Model (EDRM), Federal Litigation Support, Analytics, Cyber, Digital Forensics, Video & FOIA as a Services, Enterprise Architecture (EA), governance, Quality Management process improvement, strategic project and program management functions securing with over $10 billion-dollar federal contracts working in this public sector arena. His numerous awards and accolades across the federal industry and consistent record of growth, innovation attest to the knowledge, skill, and value he brings to any organization. LinkedIn

Panayiotis Christodoulou holds a PhD in Computer Engineering and Informatics from the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). He completed his undergraduate and postgraduate studies at the Manchester University, UK (MEng) and the Frederick University, Cyprus (MSc). Panayiotis is a member of the Software Engineering and Intelligent Information Systems Research Lab at the Cyprus University of Technology and has a lot of experience in managing EU projects as a project manager e.g., DOSSIER-Coud, SmartGov, ΕΠΙΡΡΟΗ, INNOLABS. Panayiotis’s main research interest is on Blockchains and DTLs, he has a great experience as a Blockchain Architect and smart contracts programming on native tokens and EVMs.

[AUDITABILITY]

We will measure the progress of the project against the roadmap given above. From a technical point of view daily commits to our GitLab repository (https://gitlab.com/galaxyofx/ui-admin/-/tree/master) is a key measurement.

We consider success for this project as below:

Success metric 1: Get funded by Fund8: DApps and Integrations

Success metric 2: Implement the project according to the plan

Success metric 3: Deliver the project on-time, on-budget and meet the goals set

Success metric 4: Increase the number of users by 15%, three months after the end of the project

Success metric 5: Increase the volume of NFT transactions by 10%, three months after the end of the project

N/A