South by Southwest (SXSW) looks like one of the single most fascinating events offered across the entire globe this year. Located in Austin, Texas, from March 8th-17th, a series of conferences and festivals will be held in the areas of music, fi lm, and interactive media. I have never heard of such a wildly appealing notion in the realm of creative progress. This is an event that encourages innovative, growth and exploration in a very real way. For each of the main “areas” of the festival, there are a wide variety of activities to participate in and explore. All of these activities lend to a complete immersion into an artistic escape, where you can challenge your interests and gather new ones. SXSW also encourages professional growth in the realm of creativity by pushing new technologies and educating attendees on growth in industry practices.
The music-focused events comprise a large portion of this particular festival. The most enticing portion of SXSW’s music portion is the panels and conferences, or what they call, Sessions. They host dozens of panels and speakers throughout the week. The sessions include everything from blogging’s effect on hip-hop, to busi- ness development, to discussions on the affect of Asia on Western music. This year, they will have Canadian dance music legends Deadmau5 and Richie Hawtin speaking. As far as performances go, SXSW is offering one of the most unique live experiences I have seen to date. Going along with the mission of spreading creativity and musi- cal education, SXSW offers Auditorium Shores to the public. Auditorium Shores are three straight nights of free concerts from big name and up and coming acts. They have had acts such as The Shins, The Strokes, and She & Him. Besides Auditorium Shores, throughout the week there are hundreds of performances in clubs and other venues. SXSW from start to fi nish is packed with entirely too many beautiful decisions. Here is one you cannot miss though; DJ Mag Canada is teaming up with the legendary tech-house label Defi nitive Records to throw one of the week’s hottest parties at Kingdom on March 15. Label boss John Acquaviva, alongside Jan van Lier and Francis Prève will all perform, making it a necessary addition to the schedule of any tech-heads in Austin that week.
The next major area of the festival is the fi lm segment. Just like the music portion, there are panels and speakers about an incredible variety of topics in the world of motion pictures. Once again, the panels cover really interesting topics from funding and fi nancing projects, all the way to abstract notions surrounding the industry. Next to the dozens and dozens of talks given, there are massive amounts of screen- ings. The feature length fi lms are broken into categories and competitions. Some of the competitions for the submitted feature length fi lms are: Midnighters, which is a collection of gloomy or off-kilter, after-dark features, or Visions, which is a grouping of fi lms with new innovations or risky artistic nuances. There are also categories for all of the short fi lms submitted to the festival. Unlike the music portion of SXSW, the area of fi lm will offer awards for all the categories and competitions screened. The last section of activities offered at SXSW is titled interactive on their website. This is an incredible idea and I can’t over-sell this enough; it’s magnifi cent. The heart of the daytime revolves around these workshops. The festival hosts a plethora of talks, workshops, book readings, panels, etc; all based around the concept of expanding your knowledge. Many of the workshops offered teach participants how to learn and retain information more effi ciently. There are meetings for runners, panels about grocery shopping, and events that resemble Ted Talks. A large portion
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of the interactive section is based around gaming. This event, from center to surface, truly is a cultural staple for inspiration and creative progress. SXSW offers a fun element by giving attendees an opportunity to listen to music or watch fi lms all day, but to get the most of your experience, visiting the interactive events is a daily must. Another intriguing element of SXSW is the Startup Village, which helps move is focused on innovation and technology while showcasing entrepreneurial-minded exploration.
SXSW also has plans to host a massive, four-day trade show, presenting large quanti- ties of new products and technology. These shows will be held March 10th through the 13th, starting at 11:00am, at the Austin Convention Center. The festival as a whole brings together people from different professional and creative backgrounds with the purpose of fostering a positive relationship and respect for each aspect of industry.
There is just so much going on at SXSW that is merely impossible to plan out a set schedule. This festival is simply crammed with innovation and inspiration. They even have live comedy performances throughout the week. There are also a variety of parties and cocktail hours occurring each day that one could participate in. SXSW embodies the phrase “Work hard, play hard.” This fantasy land offers industry professionals and fans alike the opportunity to expand your mind while losing it at the same time.