# OFFCHAIN NYC 2025: presented by UFO, Refraction, HIGHER, & The Park

**tldr** This proposal seeks $28,000 USDC to produce a multi-day offsite FarCon activation and livestream broadcast that spotlights the creative culture class of web3 with collaborations from the garden to the rave. 

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**OFFCHAIN** returns to NYC this May with a new format and a lot more friends. Over the course of 4 days during FarCon 2025, we'll be broadcasting a curated program streaming live through a new audio/video broadcasting mini app on Warpcast developed by UFO, powered by Livepeer, and built on Base. OFFCHAIN will feature some of the most creative builders still taking risks and creating unique experiences regardless of market conditions. OFFCHAIN sets the tone for our artists, musicians, and devlopers to feel inspired; interacting with each other while also creating a bridge betwen the Farcaster community and the yet-to-be onchain public.

...and yeah we are also having a party with loud music and cool lights.

**The Origins of OFFCHAIN** Back in 2021 during NFTNYC, Tile DAO and Squiggle DAO teamed up to create a fun, intimate party experience overlooking the Brooklyn skyline. We wanted a place to connect with all our new internet friends...that was more in line with the culture of our lives irl. The event featured runtime generative art projections that combined the onchain aesthetics of both DAOs, while also giving participants the perfect arena to vibe, chat, dance, and everything in between.

###### Offchain 2021 flyer by Sydney Banta

![offchain flyer by bantia](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/H1DYU_aC1g.jpg)

**OFFCHAIN 2025** will expand to include more of us uniting under one creative umbrella to get the most out of our trip to NYC, while also being able to bring the action to everyone else at home.

Our series will become a major milestone for media infrastructure through the onchain stack — showing what’s possible when you combine open video infrastructure (Livepeer), #onchain social (Farcaster), and wallet-native distribution (Coinbase Wallet) on Base.

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# Featured Programming

OFFCHAIN 2025 will occur at a variety of locations around NYC with a mix of private and public offerings.

**Fridays at The Park LIVE at POWER STATION** The Park visits the iconic former power relay station turned state of the art recording studio for a special live edition of Fridays at The Park. 

The building used to provide power to Manhattan’s elevated train (which is now the High Line), and was converted into this legendary space that inspired some of our favorite records growing up...and even some modern classics in the making. 

![powerr station studio a 3](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJiGxNnAyx.jpg)

We're hoping to tap into the creative legacy left behind from past performers like Nile Rodgers, Bruce Springsteen, Diana Ross, David Bowie, Paul Simon, Madonna, Herbie Hancock, Esperanza Spalding, Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan...the list goes on. Check out the full album list [here](https://powerstation.nyc/about). It's pretty wild.

Note: There is an adjacent video control room that controls the 26 (wow) ptz cams scattered throughout the studio, making for potential upscale in quality of brodcast.

![power station studio a 2](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJHJeEhCJl.jpg)

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**REFRACTION AFTER DARK** Located in the heart of Greenpoint, Ponyboy NYC isn’t just a bar — it’s a multi-dimensional cultural venue where food, music, and design converge into an immersive social experience. For one night Refraction will transform Ponyboy into an installation showcase of Livepeer's real-time AI Technology.

![ponyboy](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HyLIFOykgx.jpg)

Ponyboy isn’t just a backdrop — it’s a character in New York’s nightlife narrative. It’s hosted everything from dance parties to underground jazz nights, and even a seasonal residency in Aspen, bringing its Brooklyn energy to the slopes. That kind of brand mobility and cross-market presence gives your event cultural credibility and long-tail visibility.

###### Refraction at Public Records in 2024

![refraction NYC](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/S1qc9txkex.jpg)

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**Field Trip with Errorgardener to Brooklyn Botanic Gardens** Join us for a morning meetup in the gardens where we can discuss our lives both #onchain + off in a more personal setting surrounded by the new blooms of Spring. Afterwards, we'll get lunch and continue our discussions on how we can help each other continue to navigate this ever changing social dynamic at the intersection of art + technology.

![1599px-Glass_house_view_-_Brooklyn_Botanic_Garden_-_Brooklyn,_NY_-_DSC08177](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/B1SV4ykJel.jpg)

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**HIGHER Skatejam**: The annual HIGHER Skatejam returns with new layers: best trick contest for $HIGHER, surprise drops, music, and vibes. We'll be partnering with some local NYC skateshops to get the word out and make it special for all the skaters and skate fans.

###### FarCon <> Higher @ Venice Skatepark by typeof.eth

![Farcon &lt;&gt; Higher @ Venice Skatepark copy](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SkqH3HJJxe.jpg)

###### FarCon 2024 Flyer featuring Manny404 + Allstarz

![higher at the skatepark](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/rJs2M600Jx.png)

**Flowers for Memories: SPRINGTIME EDITION** After four seasons of listening to your stories in Denver, Marfa, Idyllwild, and last year's farcon in Venice Beach - the flower stand finally makes its East Coast debut. The deal is simple...Tell me a story and I'll make you a bouquet. Open to anyone willing to pay with their memories. 

Who knows, you might even make some new ones.

![image000007](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/H12iSk1kxg.jpg)
![IMG_4092](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJLHkIy1xx.jpg)

***We'd love to potentially expand the livestream program to also include Nouns House + FarCon Summit, along with other adjacent nounish events.***

Producing events in a decentralized space has always been challenging to do alone. This time around, we thought to get together with our friends to streamline planning and project execution.

# A look at our Creative Partners

**UFO** is a radio network focused on broadcasting + archiving live shows, mixes, conversations, and sound experiments from artists and scenes around the world.

![Screenshot 2025-04-17 at 10.49.00 PM](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/BJ2I_vJyll.png)

**Refraction** is an artist-owned community leading the next wave of digital art, music and culture — online, onchain and IRL.

![Screenshot 2025-04-16 at 2.09.44 PM](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SyI03caC1g.png)
![Screenshot 2025-04-15 at 12.28.46 PM](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SydVPwk1ge.png)

**The Park** is an International group of musicians / artists / coders living life #onchain through creative collaboration and of course...coffee.

###### Artwork by Glassface

![the park token 555](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/r1fFhq60Jx.png)

**HIGHER** is an internet [destination](https://www.aimhigher.net/): a vibrant network of designers, developers, artists, writers, entrepreneurs, and athletes, leveraging open technology to work ourselves into our dream lives.

![higher chart](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/ry2wzbgyex.jpg)

At its core, Higher is centered around aspiration. You don’t need anyone’s permission to join us – Higher is open to those who share the values that move us toward the optimistic futures we imagine and build.

![higher bilboard copy](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/SJIx4be1lg.jpg)

**Audience** Here's a look at potential exposure for nouns as a *Presenting Partner* via our combined network, engaging an audience of \~229,600 followers.

| Partner                                       | X/twitter (followers) | Farcaster (followers) | Instagram (followers) | email  |
| --------------------------------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------- | --------------------- | ------ |
| UFO                                           | \~23,000              | \~12000               | \~200                 | 16000+ |
| Livepeer                                      | \~47000               | \~100                 | n/a                   | 25000+ |
| Refraction                                    | \~7000                | \~300                 | \~7000                | 15000+ |
| The Park (Including Main Accounts of Members) | \~8000                | \~34000               | \~35000               | n/a    |
| Potential audience:                           | \~85000               | \~46400               | \~42200               | 56000+ |

# So what will it cost?

After baseline calculations on a per event basis + accounting for international travel contingencies with regards to time proximy and gear, we've stripped things down to the minimum costs of execution. Here's where we landed and what we'll need to pull this off.

| Creative Partner | Cost  | Expense Breakdown                                                                                                                         | Notes                 | Total    |
| ---------------- | ----- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------- | -------- |
| UFO              | 10K   | Broadcast Production, Camera / Stream Tech, Travel for Core Team                                                                          | Friends & Family Comp | 0        |
| Refraction       | \~10K | All-in event (location, talent, installation)                                                                                             |                       | 10K      |
| The Park         | 10K   | Studio Rental, Studio Engineer; Camera +lens kit + Operator, Travel for Core Team                                                         |                       | 10K      |
| HIGHER           | 5K    | Merch + giveaways, HIGHER ZINE PRINT Costs, Travel for Core Team                                                                          |                       | 5K       |
| Noun Coffee      | 1K    | Coffee Shipment + Onsite Barista                                                                                                          |                       | 1K       |
| Errorgardener    | 1K    | Flowers + Arrangement Supplies, Product Transport; Brooklyn Botanical Entry Fees for Participants/core team + lunch (About 20 people max) |                       | 1K       |
| Operations       | 1K    | Art Direction + Marketing Output (Flyer Designs, chyrons for broadcast, irl materials )                                                   |                       | 1K       |
|                  |       |                                                                                                                                           |                       | 28K USDC |

UFO has gone ahead and graciously covered most of their operating costs internally, bringing our project total down to 28K USDC. In the unlikely event of costs coming under budget, we will recoup some of UFOs initial expenses.

Funds will be managed by 2/4 multi-sig wallet at: 0xD45DEb50760FBfC4d08A2d8a9d1899e477FdbdEf

Core Team Signers
0x978f664433aBf02b7460f5ED138F8Eb46DAc2547 representing UFO
chicbangs.eth representing HIGHER
Errorgardener.eth representing The Park
Malcolmlevy.eth representing Refraction

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# Why is it NOUNISH?

*"do good with no expectation of return, create positive externalities, embrace absurdity & difference, teach people about nouns & crypto, have fun" - @punk4156*

To us, OFFCHAIN creates a new arena for onchain communities to honor the work that keeps pushing the boundaries of art + tech. Each of the featured events target specific sentiments shared originally in the quote by 4156. Some are familiar with it, but most people new to NOUNS are not. Certainly we can all agree that live music, flowers, skateboarding, coffee, art with your friends sure sounds like a lot of fun.

The events featured in OFFCHAIN are designed to offer an alternative path for non-crypto natives to engage in crypto culture without the tech part having to be the feature or selling point. 

With that said, the UFO mini app on Farcaster is an open source repo. They're shipping it as a public good for the ecosystem which allows our more technically savvy audience to experiment and make it work for their own projects.

We’re onboarding artists, DJs, and creators from outside the crypto scene, but more importantly, teaching them how to continue thriving through participation and accountability. Whether indirectly or not, Nounish influence has already impacted this very prop, with many of the involved builders being a part of nounish communities or even nouns themselves.

Plans to expand #OFFCHAIN to coincide with other events throughout the year are already under way, with interest in broadcasts druring FEST Idyllwild, Art Blocks MARFA, and Art Basel Miami, giving us the chance to align nouns with more of the adjacent cultures that are proliferating their own narratives #onchain.

We can't expect everyone to understand what it means to be #onchain overnight, but we can still create bridges for them to cross over when their values/interests start to align. Let's show them the diversity of interests that can exist when we choose to see though the nounish lens.

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Proposal drafted by Trevor Banta, Nick Hollins, Chic Bangs, Malcolm Levy, and Raf Kats.

Outcome: DEFEATED