CultureCon, the fastest-growing conference for creatives of color, was in full force in New York City this past Saturday, after hosting successful conferences in Los Angeles and Atlanta earlier in the year.
Founded by entertainment executive Imani Ellis, and powered by the Creative Collective, culture-shifters, change-makers and visionaries descended upon its offerings of panels, events and activities.
Taraji P. Henson, Meagan Good, Elaine Welteroth, Kenya Barris, Lena Waithe and EBONY March 2022 cover star Tracee Ellis Ross, who kicked up her Louboutin heels during a panel, were just a handful of the stars on hand to share their knowledge and wisdom about creative industries.
The fourth annual CultureCon NYC, with JET as its media sponsor, also quelled a jonesing we’ve had for quite some time. Love Jones stars Nia Long and Larenz Tate took the stage for a Creative Genius conversation, reuniting together the two stars just in time for the cult classic film’s 25th anniversary.
Shawnee Parker, VP head of marketing and publicity for Disney’s ONYX Collective, shared how the new brand is dedicated to amplifying voices of color. Their first dramatic series, Reasonable Doubt, which is produced by Kerry Washington’s production company Simpson Street, is currently airing on Hulu.
The Prime Video Movie Theatre held a CultureCon Week screening of the upcoming series, Riches at The Brooklyn Academy of Music. Media host Kela Walker moderated a Q&A with creator/EP Abby Ajayi and series stars Deborah Ayorinde and Emmanuel Imani to talk about the show, which follows the exploits of the brash, super-successful, and wealthy Richards family. Beats pumped through the night with sounds from DJ Flygerian, followed by a performance from dynamic duo Chiefy Chiefy, comprised of Grammy-nominated musicians Jidenna and Nana Kwabena.
There were sneak peeks of Kym, an Audible Original produced and created by Lena Waithe and Kym Whitley, and Peacock’s The Best Man: The Final Chapters. Based on the cult classic films of the ’90s, the limited series brings the entire original cast back for a brand new story written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee.
The general consensus for the day was that CultureCon NYC brought good vibes to the forefront, promoting its ideal of collaboration over competition for this cultural homecoming.
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