Good news arrives eight months ahead of the international meeting of minds, musicians, influencers, auto engineers, geeks, filmmakers, fintech programmers, biometric scientists, artists, iconoclasts, doctors, entrepreneurs, and policy makers: SXSW 2017 will provide expanded access to all attendees for its Interactive, Film, and Music programming.
This was a long time coming. Over the years, as the technological topics in SXSW’s Interactive programming grew in influence over industry developments within Music and Film, Sx introduced convergence programming, providing attendees the ability to learn and connect with leaders outside their industry circle or see how technology is shifting their own vertical market in new ways.
We’ve also seen healthcare, the auto industry, sports, fashion and retail morph and evolve. With the arrival of AR, VR and 360 video, and other emerging innovations and technologies, the world hit yet another tipping point, which was evident in SXSW’s 2016 programming.
“Today, these elements are very much intertwined and the lines that once separated them have become blurred,” said Roland Swenson, SXSW Co-founder in their announcement. “The popularity of our convergence programming, and the increasingly cross-industry nature of our SXSW speakers and registrants make this a natural progression as we look to the future. Next March, SXSW provides a unique environment to explore where all three intersect, while providing maximum flexibility for all, with access to even more engaging and diverse programming.”
Attendees registering for specific badge types, be it Interactive, Film or Music, will be given primary entry to those types and then allowed “secondary access to most other SXSW events.”
SXSW also released the start of its long list of keynote speakers planned for 2017, including Jennifer Doudna (Interactive), a geneticist and pioneer co-inventor of CRISPR-Cas9, a groundbreaking new technology for editing genes. Jill Soloway, Golden Globe and Emmy winner, director, and creator of “Transparent,” will be part of the Film programming.
Additional SXSW 2017 featured speakers include:
Mary Lou Jepsen – a former executive at Facebook, Oculus, Intel, and Google X, she is the founder and chairman of Openwater, which is developing an MRI resolution imaging wearable.
Candice Morgan – she joined Pinterest early in 2016 as the first-ever Head of Diversity after nearly a decade working at Catalyst Inc., a global consultancy focused on diversity and inclusion.
Nadya Tolokonnikova – as a member of the Russian punk rock group Pussy Riot, this conceptual artist continues to put political activism at the forefront.
Earvin “Magic” Johnson – the NBA legend will share his life experiences as a professional sports team player and owner, entrepreneur, philanthropist, motivational speaker, and Chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises.
Ingrid Vanderveldt – entrepreneur, investor, creator, host of CNBC’s first original primetime series, “American Made,” and the first Entrepreneur-in-Residence for Dell, she is the founder & CEO of Empowering a Billion Women by 2020, whose signature education and business intelligence programs and services to empower women with critical knowledge to grow and scale their businesses.
Gary Vaynerchuk – entrepreneur, CEO of VaynerMedia, four-time New York Times best-selling author, King of the F-bombs, and Snapchat addict, Vaynerchuk is a prolific angel investor and co-founder of VaynerRSE, a $25M investment fund.
Amber Venz Box – she is the Co-Founder and President of rewardStyle, a content monetization platform for top-tier digital style Influencers and world brands, and the cross-channel consumer shopping service, LiketoKNOW.it, which enables shoppers with direct purchase of all the goodies they discover on Instagram.
Dan Lyons – the former writer on HBO’s Silicon Valley who went to work for Hubspot, and then wrote about his experiences there, caused quite a stir (and then some) in the marketing industry with the release of his New York Times best-seller, “Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-Up Bubble.”
Adam Savage – is an American industrial design and special effects designer/fabricator, formerly known as co-host (with Jamie Hyneman) of the Discovery Channel series “MythBusters” and “Unchained Reaction,” actor, educator, and a 7-foot Incognito Revenant Bear with a hankering for pic-a-nic baskets (pattern PDF included).
SXSW will be open for registration begining August 1, 2016 at sxsw.com, and they’re also accepting Music Artist Applications via Sonicbids from June 28 – October 21, 2016.
Entry is also open for the Interactive Innovation Awards, the SXSW Gaming Awards, the SXSW Accelerator competition, and ReleaseIt at SXSW, the pitch competition within the Startup Village. SXSW Film Festival is accepting Feature Film, Short Film & Music Video submissions from June 28 – October 20, 2016.
