I really, really hope so…
I am not shocked by the news that SXSW Sydney is cancelled.
But I am by the response; and I wasn’t expecting people to have had such negative experiences at the event.
It’s easy to get caught up in a world where the largest brands dominate. They have a might that is hard to ignore: networks, embedded credibility, cash in the bank, automatic press, and years (or decades) of SEO and algorithmic support.
People know them. But do they know their people?
What this cancellation shows is that big brands have a way of forgetting their people.
As I read through responses and articles, the common theme that jumps out to me is that SXSW started as a place for its people; music, film… The art and the people created the culture..
In the Sydney franchise, however, it felt like a Trumpian cash-in. It was a US brand extracting value from the NSW government and our local economy without reinvesting or giving back. It was a cash grab, not an exercise in building infrastructure or a real network. It was a hollow business. And this is why I’m a little relieved to see it survive.
My gut instinct is that what people experienced there is a sense that, with or without SXSW Sydney, life for creative people, brands, and business would really go on the same.
It wasn’t changing our industry for the better right now, and I doubt in a few years we’ll talk much about the loss of it.
In contrast, look at the amount of people that have talked up the loss of homegrown festivals such as Pause Fest. That was the closest thing we’ve had to a true SXSW experience in Australia; something people do miss, and something that should have been better backed by industry and government to continue instead of SXSW, in my opinion.
My point is that for creative people in Australia who want to learn, connect, and grow their careers, the offerings have so often been festivals and events that are overseas.
And that is crazy to me, when we have so much creative talent and opportunity, right here.
Which is why I have been surprised to see the amount of response about what went wrong for SXSW Sydney.
Because I don’t see this level of honesty enough; talking about major international brands and how they are not serving us.
I don’t see us standing up for our local industry enough, coming together enough. Unlocking funding and initiatives enough.
I say all this knowing there are so many people working tirelessly to support creatives and to build up the industry in this country. People being proactive, even loud, and ambitious.
There is so much great work that happens to grow our industry.
But it’s not enough. If it was enough, SXSW Sydney would never have been able come here. We would have backed our own creatives, to build their events.
If it was enough, we’d have more pathways for creative people to build careers. To support them with education and funding.
We do a lot individually, and in silos. But not enough together, not enough that is achieving any kind of scale.
Creatives across industries need more from all of us, and I include myself in that as a creative person.
I don’t have the answers, but I am determined to make a better contribution myself because I started having a crack at this problem about a decade ago.
…and I burnt out after a few years working 80-hour days on the problem.
Part of that is on me, but the complexity of accessing early-stage funding and support in getting a creative enterprise off the ground sure didn’t help.
I know I’m not alone.
Which is why I think we need to come together more.
To build our own initiatives. Homegrown, creative initiatives. That support creatives. That help us educate ourselves, and learn from each other. Build up the industry.
All I know is this: we don’t need more local funds going to international businesses that don’t have our interest at heart. We need our local, taxpayer, and corporate funds going to Australian creatives and creative enterprises.
And the only people that can really campaign for that are creative people; coming together, talking more, finding new ways forward.
Up for a chat if this resonates with anyone. I’m writing this because I have a project in the works that’s coming this year. But mainly because I deeply care about the future of creativity in this country, and this feels like an important moment for our industry to seize.
My project is only one very small contribution to this problem, we’re going to need people with networks, influence and money to step up too - because the Australian creative industry, and the creative people it is supposed to support and employ needs it.