Here’s 3 Things We Learned At CultureCon 2024

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On Oct. 5, the Duggal Greenhouse, nestled within the sprawling Brooklyn Navy Yard, buzzed with energy as thousands of young creatives and entrepreneurs gathered for the annual CultureCon. The vibrant conference is a haven for Black creative professionals, offering a unique opportunity to connect, learn, and collaborate. Over two days, attendees dove into a dynamic lineup of workshops, activations, and networking opportunities, including a career fair brimming with potential. With inspiring conversations featuring influential culture-shifters, CultureCon was a one-of-a-kind experience where creativity flourished and community thrived.

MadameNoire was on the scene the first day of the vibrant conference, soaking up invaluable insights from an all-star lineup of celebrities, entrepreneurs, and innovators. With highlights including fashion icon June Ambrose, TV host and QueerEye star Karamo, and iOne’s own Allison McGevna, Markus Robinson, and Victoria Fleary, the event was a treasure trove of inspiration. Whether you were ready to embark on a new creative journey or find the courage to finally launch that project you’ve been postponing, the day sparked excitement and optimism about the future of the creative industry. Here’s what we took away from this year’s CultureCon event.

The power of the pivot.

We started the day attending The Power Of The Pivot panel, hosted by CBS TV personality Jasmine Monroe. Guest speakers included Karamo, chef and social media star Toni Chapman, and host and NPR Tiny Desk series producer Bobby Carter.

Karamo opened the panel with a heartfelt reflection on his challenging journey through the entertainment industry. At 43, he recalled starting out with a little more than a dream and a tight budget, driven by his desire to be a host and inspirational speaker. Karamo felt a calling to uplift others. In 2014, he joined the Oprah Winfrey Network to launch #OWNShowbut was dismissed soon after for being one of the first to address mental health and wellness on air. While losing his dream job was daunting, Karamo knew he was tackling an important topic that resonated with many. He encouraged attendees to embrace change, even when it brings setbacks, by leaning into those moments and prioritizing self-love.

“I don’t have any fear,” Karamo told the audience on Saturday, as he recalled attendees to constantly pour back into themselves as they reach for the stars. “Practice that love for yourself.”

Bobby Carter, a dedicated NPR employee for nearly a decade, faced significant challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. From 2020 to 2022, he and his music team launched the innovative Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts series, featuring artists like Kirk Franklin, Tame Impala, Tems, Jazmine Sullivan, and C. Tangana, adapting to the new landscape. His visionary efforts have forged partnerships with major organizations, including HBO, Complexcon, and Amazon. Today, Tiny Desk Concerts attract an impressive 40 million views per month on YouTube, and the brand has successfully expanded into Korea and Japan.

Carter is well aware that public radio doesn’t generate vast profits, but for him, impact and influence outweigh financial gain. He believes that while money may not always follow creative ventures, a strong passion can drive success and eventually lead to opportunities. Carter said it’s vital to pinpoint the “thing that makes you stand out” from the rest in your sector, so that you can strengthen and eventually capitalize on those skills.

(L-R) iOne’s SVP of Content, Allison McGevna; Senior Vice President of Product and Technology, Markus Robinson; Vice President of Social Media, Victoria Fleary; and HelloBeautiful’s Director of Sponsored & Affiliate Content, Cliché Wynter-Mayo Source: Alex Mayo.

Embrace AI, but protect yourself.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how we work in creative fields, raising the question: can it enhance our storytelling and eliminate mundane tasks that hinder our creative output? iOne’s SVP of Content, Allison McGevna; Senior Vice President of Product and Technology, Markus Robinson; Vice President of Social Media, Victoria Fleary; and HelloBeautiful’s Director of Sponsored & Affiliate Content, Cliché Wynter-Mayo, explored how they leverage AI to produce innovative content and streamline daily processes within the company.

iOne’s brilliant social media team continually seeks innovative ways to craft engaging content that enhances the videos and written stories shared across brands. For Fleary, AI has proven to be an exceptional tool, enabling the team to generate creative topics, captions, and more in an instant, helping to push out fresh and innovative content faster. She particularly praised open AI models like ChatGPT for their ability to inspire new and exciting concepts.

Source: Alex Mayo / Alex Mayo

“It helps spit back out something that we can then massage. We never use anything straight out of the machine,” Fleary told the sea of creatives during iOne’s Unlocking Creative Storytelling With AI panel at CultureCon. “We really use it to help generate the next thought that’s going to be originally ours.”

Robinson emphasized AI’s capacity to streamline daily tasks, such as note taking in meetings and collecting data that enriches engaging stories while facilitating valuable partnerships with other companies. As a tech enthusiast, he is eager to see how AI will evolve in the future, believing it could play a pivotal role in empowering small business entrepreneurs like himself to succeed.

“When I created a consulting agency, one of my biggest struggles was the accounting side of the equation, the billing side of the equation, even the customer support side of the equation,” Robinson shared. “These are places I feel like AI can eliminate your time from having to deal with, so that you can focus on the thing that you’re the expert in, right? The idea of taking a customer support module that lives on your website, that has access to your most frequently asked questions and answering those questions before they even get to you – that sounds really exciting.”

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Robinson While he is optimistic about the future, he stressed the importance of creatives exercising due diligence when utilizing open AI models like ChatGPT for content creation. He noted that some platforms may receive information that perpetuates biased perspectives about people of color and their unique narratives.

“I equate it to searching the internet. When you Google anything, there’s probably going to be some bias, right? Because the lion’s share, what ends up at the top of your Google search results, probably wasn’t created by us,” he explained. “We have to be thorough in our reading. We have to do a little extra research. We can’t assume that GPT is spitting out the right answer. And you have to add the layer of your knowledge and understanding on top of it.”

All four panelists discussed the pressing issue of protecting intellectual property in light of advancements in AI technology. They agreed that safeguarding creative rights is crucial, particularly as large language models currently lack effective mechanisms for licensing and compensating creators for their intellectual contributions. The panelists also highlighted practical steps individuals can take to protect their content online, such as preventing search engines and AI models from “crawling” their websites.

While Wynter-Mayo rarely utilizes AI in her writing and work at HelloBeautiful and remains hesitant about adopting the new technology, she stressed the importance of staying informed about its potential impact on the creative sector. She encouraged the audience to embrace change and understand how innovative technologies can shape their work.

“I think our community in particular is so often left behind and left out these conversations that it would follow us, at the very least, to learn the technology, learn what we’re afraid of,” she added.

Compete against no one but yourself.

After stopping by a few exciting activations presented by Clinique and Shea Moisture, we rushed over to attend the Manifesting Visions of Tomorrow fireside chat hosted by legendary fashion designer and stylist, June Ambrose. During the beautiful conversation, Ambrose spoke to the inaugural class of the Gucci Changemakers Creative Fellows program. This year’s honorees—Zahri Josita Jackson, Celeste Nicole Haselrig, Yetunde Sapp, and Keith Herron—were awarded grants to support their creative projects in filmmaking, visual art, and fashion. The conversation explored their inspirations, creative processes, and the innovative works they are developing to challenge conventional perceptions of the world.

A standout moment came from Haselrig, a fashion designer and artist, who used her scholarship from Gucci to construct her American Dream fashion collection and art series. The unique line and art collection offers a thought-provoking examination of identity and the intricacies of the American experience by reimagining classic American imagery, fusing these themes with often exclusionary ideals associated with the “American Dream,” and transforming them into a celebration of diversity and inclusivity. While developing her collection, Haselrig recognized the importance of prioritizing “quality over quantity,” which empowered her to inject each piece with meaningful depth and intent.

Ambrose, 53, recognized the pressure creatives often feel to produce constantly, driven by social media, and encouraged the honorees to maintain confidence in their unique journeys and to stay focused on their visions.

“Comparing yourself to yourself is the biggest joy in life and competing against yourself “will bring you much success,” she added.

Did you attend CultureCon this year? Tell us about your experience in the comments section.

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