Being a creative is a challenging job. The landscape for the creative’s career is dynamic. It’s not linear, and there’s no roadmap for success. Essentially, creatives release their work to the public, hoping somebody likes it. That type of hustle often goes unnoticed, but CultureCon is here to change all of that.
All About CultureCon
CultureCon, founded by Imani Ellis, is a product of the Creative Collective NYC, an organization that highlights creatives and gives them the tools they need to thrive. The conference started in 2017 when Ellis’s living room was a potluck event with her peers. It’s since grown into a homecoming for over 100,000 creatives every year. Over the past several years of the conference, she’s learned a lot about herself, including that she couldn’t do it alone.
“Delegation is so important in the beginning,” she shared with 21Ninety. “I just thought I had to do it all because I didn’t want to burden people. I didn’t want to ask them to take on too much, and now I see that people want to help … we are so much stronger when you let people work in their zone of genius.”
Working in a zone of genius is what CultureCon is about. This year is the conference’s first time having a two-day event; the possibilities were limitless for creatives. Fireside chats were held by some of the top creatives in the industry, like Issa Rae, Marsai Martin, and Teyana Taylor, to help inspire other creatives. However, one thing that stood out about the event was the outstanding presence of Black women in the limelight.
“Black women are the foundation of so much impact,” Ellis explained. “Seeing the different women from Teyana Taylor to Issa Rae to Tamika D. Mallory, I feel it’s a really out-of-body experience because these women have opened so many doors for us and for them to come to CultureCon with their schedules. I think it is a testament to what they value.”
Black Women Creatives
When it comes to the Black women who stepped on the scene at CultureCon, there was no shortage of Black girl magic! Lala Milan, who recently announced her pregnancy, explained to 21Ninety that the essence of being a Black woman fuels her creativity.
“I’m magical, and honey, Lord knows I wouldn’t be able to be in these spaces that I’m in if I wasn’t Black; it just wouldn’t hit the same if I was caucasian,” she proclaimed.
Rising star Lola Brooke shares the same pride in being a Black woman. At the conference, she explained that her power as a rapper and creative comes from the roots of her Blackness and that the shared experiences of Black people help fuel their creativity.
“Black people, in general, are very much cultural. We all have a lot of things in common. Everything in our household is in everybody else’s; little do we know,” she expressed. “I’m happy to be living in my skin for sure.”
Showcasing Black Girl Magic Link Ups at CultureCon
Sylvia Obell and Scottie Beam have had their fingers on the pulse of culture for quite some time. Now they have elevated their podcast, “The Scootie and Sylvia Show,” to Issa Rae’s Raedio, the duo have been able to use their Black girl magic and their sisterhood to grow to even higher levels.
“It’s a beautiful thing to cultivate because it’s a meeting of minds, especially through love,” Beam shared with 21Ninety. “Something being a labor of love is so important to have, especially doing it with your sister, doing it with your best friend, and doing it with somebody who understands you.”
Obell sings the same tune, stating that this dynamic type wouldn’t have worked with just any of her homegirls.
“Our friendship is the foundation of the show, and I think everything we do moves through that organic place,” she gushed. “There are a lot of people I could be friends with, not many people I could work with and be friends with. I think that takes a special [type of bond between] people who have boundaries who know each other’s best intentions, know each other’s heart, and have similar work ethics.”
CultureCon 2023 was a creative heaven! Ellis shared that she looks forward to the event’s growth, and everyone else is too.