The Theme is “Camp”
CultureCon 2024 is back in Brooklyn, New York from October 5-6, 2024. This year’s CultureCon took attendees “to camp” with this year’s theme for the annual convention. The two-day event is like a Black creative homecoming, bringing creatives, brands, and celebrities together for a weekend full of community building and activations.
CultureCon was founded in 2017 by Imani Ellis, the CEO of The Creative Collective NYC: a global organization that provides resources and community for Black creatives. Ellis founded CultureCon to provide a platform for Black creatives to learn from one another.
Along with the convention, CultureCon has expanded. According to a Modern Luxury interview, Ellis now has CultureCon Studios, an incubator program to amplify all types of talent; over 150,000 creatives are tapped into this community. And a campus program for HBCU students.
CultureCon’s intentional expansions go back to the legacy Ellis hopes the brand leaves behind.
“I think the legacy will always be community, it’s just so important that we have each other. We’re living in the loneliest generation ever, so even though we have social [media] where we can see people’s lives, we don’t really know anything about their lives,” said Ellis in a Carvd N Stone interview. “So, I think it’s important to get back into, you know, meeting people and understanding people’s stories and I hope that if that’s the legacy that we leave, it will be a success.”
More then Panels
The essence of togetherness was seen in the crowds of people dressed to the nines interacting with each other and on the campgrounds during day one of CultureCon. Attendees had the opportunity to go on creative adventures in the Creative Playground and Adventure Alley where people could tap into their “inner child” with activations from MAX, SheaMoisture, Clinique, Ciroc, When We All Vote, McDonald’s Black and Positively Golden, Verizon, Prime, Pinterest, and Kickstarter. Adventure Alley also had the Ciroc VIP area that featured a DJ.
Attendees received take-home goodies like bags of MAX flowers, official CultureCon tote bags, and Clinique freebies that could be seen all over the campgrounds. The dining hall was a hot topic of conversation with food available for purchase from vendors including Solo: Scoop Creamery, Patties by Chef Kwame, Afro Taco, and more.
A Quick Dive into Law Roach’s Panel
When attendees weren’t engaged with activations and fellowship, they were delighted with panels featuring legends like actor Morris Chestnut and Celebrity Image Architect Law Roach.
Roach sat down for the final “Creative Genius” series conversation of the day with “The Cutting Room Floor” podcast host Recho Omondi. The two spoke about everything from Roach’s origins as a budding stylist to his new self-help book, “How to Build a Fashion Icon: Notes on Confidence from the World’s Only Image Architect.”
During the panel, Roach discussed working with celebrities and building a credible reputation.
“See the thing about whatever celebrity I have, it’s a byproduct of the work. It’s because I did great work for so long that people started to want to know who was behind the work,” said Roach.“Every time you see me on the carpet with Zendaya it’s because she reached out and told me to stand next to her because that’s part of my loyalty and [it] shows that’s what I mean to her.”
CultureCon day one ended with the official South House CultureCon afterparty hosted by artist Wale.
To watch Carvd N Stone’s CultureCon 2024 interviews, click here.
India Rice
India Rice is a senior mass media arts major at Clark Atlanta University She enjoys writing about pop culture, fashion, Hip Hop, Film, and now STEM. She hopes her writing can inspire young people to continue to pursue their passions and know their voice matters.
