Curating Creativity

Radical Science

This episode we chatted to Hugh Forrest, the newly minted Chief Programming Officer of South by South West (SXSW). This role puts Hugh in charge of one of the most dynamic and diverse conferences around, covering around 1300 panels & talks, approximately 2000 bands, and roughly 300 films (many making their premieres at SXSW). Hugh's been at SXSW since the "stone ages" of the conference (way back in 1989...) - in fact he was the first paid employee! We were keen to see how SXSW has evolved over time by incorporating new tech and science streams, committing to the city of Austin, and bringing in some of the most sought after speakers - Vice President Joe Biden and CRISPR co-inventor Jennifer Doudna made an appearance this year. We were fascinated by how SXSW has come to be the engaging and inclusive conference that people come back to year on year. And more specifically what can science conference organisers learn from the SXSW model.