How CultureCon became the hottest new go-to event for black creatives
“Nothing moves without us.”
It was the tagline for this year’s 2018 CultureCon in New York City and it couldn’t be more accurate. When it comes to bringing together rising stars in the creative industry, CultureCon has it in lock.
The conference was dreamed up by The Creative Collective, which was founded by Imani Ellis and ten of her closest friends. The goal is to create brave and safe spaces for people of color.
CultureCon has become the destination event for creatives to connect with like-minded individuals as well as public figures in their field of interest. The 2018 CultureCon conference (hosted by Sports Journalist Taylor Rooks) featured thought-provoking panel conversations with culture favorites like EGOT John Legend, Charlamagne tha God, Remy Ma, Angela Yee, and Nick Cannon.
CultureCon also offered hands-on workshops to get the creative juices flowing and panels like “Hurry Up and Fail” moderated by theGrio’s very own, Natasha S. Alford to inspire attendees to embrace failures in their journey and trust that if they keep at it, their dreams can come into fruition.
Award-winning author, Enitan Bereola II, participated in the panel discussion along with, Sharifa Murdock (Founder of ENVSN and ‘The Brooklyn Intern’), Tyla-Lauren (Beauty Digital Entrepreneur) and Darryl Perkins (Co-Founder of Broccoli Festival). Bereola shared his thoughts on the topic and the beauty behind failing:
“The panel was about facing your failure and facing your fears,” Bereola says. “I think a lot of times we look at failure like the stopping point. We look at failure as this devastating momentous occasion that paralyzes us but failure is a part of the journey. “
“When you fail, you’re trying,” says the award-winning author. “When you sit still and you’re just paralyzed, you’re not doing anything to contribute to the goal that you are trying to change. So failure is about perception and really understanding that it is a beautiful thing. It’s so many lessons that you pick up when you fail. I’ve failed more times than I won and the lessons that i received from failure as opposed to the wins that i received are way greater.”
On air-talent, entertainment journalist and co-host of Black Girl Podcast, Gia Peppers, also moderated a panel with Tyler Mitchell (Photographer behind Beyonce’ Vogue Issue). Peppers shared why CultureCon is so relevant to the Black community:
“CultureCon is so important and so necessary for any talent really because at the end of the day, this is all about community, says the on-air talent. “CultureCon is about coming here, it’s kind of like a family reunion, you see people you worked with in the past; you see people you hope to work with in the future. It’s really about getting that face to face time with people that you respect and admire and networking.”
“It’s also about just loving on each other and supporting each other and standing in how dope you are and how dope what you do is. CultureCon is so important for people who want to learn and for people who want to grow even though they’ve accomplished things they never thought they would.”
Angela Yee, co-host of The Breakfast Club was one of the panelists for “Black Media Matters: An Ode To Strong Women In Media” and during the Conference, she expressed that she hopes young creatives are patient throughout their journey.
“A lot of times people really want things to happen so quickly and they think it is an overnight thing,” says Yee.
“People will say, ‘Oh I’ve been doing this for two months and nothing is happening.’ So, I want to encourage people to really be consistent and make sure you are doing your work and evolving and figuring out how to be better and know that you’re not going to get those results right away.”
If you missed CultureCon, we got you covered! Check out our full recap and make sure you stay ready for 2019.
