REMIX trendscouting; supplied
For two days in June, Sydney Town Hall will become the hot zone where 75 disruptive entrepreneurs, leaders in cutting edge technology and champions of the cultural sector come together to define the future – that is, a future molded on big ideas shaping our creative cities, the creative economy, and the culture zeitgeist.
The inaugural REMIX summit was held in London in 2012. It has become a phenomenon unto itself, today with partners Bloomberg, Google and The Guardian and speakers the crème of industry leaders and creative blaze-trailers.
ArtsHub caught up with Peter Tullin, Managing Partner & Co-Founder of REMIX Global Summits, to ask him what exactly was it that makes REMIX work? Why are the world’s most creative thinkers drawn to this forum?
‘A whole lot of people want to make contacts – REMIX is a space that brings people together from lots of different industries. Remix works really well when you have 50 / 50 (mix) but the core is the cultural sector which holds it all together,’ he explained.
REMIX is distinctive among conferences inn its interactivity. ‘We want the stories to move from the stage to audience,’ said Tullin.
‘In terms of the overall space that the event occupies – that intersection of culture, technology and entrepreneurship – that bit remains consistent. Obviously new business models (emerge), so while certain themes remain the same across the summits they are layered up with “the new”. So for example, sessions looking at the maker revolution and wearable technology is also all over the media at the moment,’ said Tullin of this year’s REMIX Sydney summit.
REMIX London panel discussion; supplied
‘Some of them are very much global trends and Australia sits within that zeitgeist. Gaming has really gone on to the agenda. Literally everyone is a gamer and the demographic is not what you expect,’ said Tullin.
Tullin cited the example of gaming company Minecraft working with London’s TATE gallery. Working with expert ‘mapmakers’ to create virtual 3-D worlds inspired by the artworks, Tate Worlds are based on paintings and sculptures in the Tate Collection. Made available as a game downloaded free November last year, with more games released this year. Minecraft, said Tullin, is now working with the British Museum.
Topics explored over this year’s REMIX Sydney summit include: The Creative Revolution; The future of Story-telling; Educating the next generation; Beyond hype: Building, engaging and sustaining communities; The gaming revolution: Everyone’s a gamer; Changing direction – Tales of reinvention; Multi-channel content: Strategies for developing new markets and Competing online – Getting above the noise.
Among this year’s list of 75 speakers, across some 30 plus sessions, are:
- Seb Chan, Director, Digital & Emerging Media, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
- Tom Uglow, Creative Director, Google Creative Lab
- Karen Stocks, Managing Director, Twitter, Australia
- Sree Sreenivasan, Chief Digital Officer, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Ed Harrison, CEO, YAHOO!7
- Royce Akers, Editor, VICE
- Michael Rodrigues, CEO, Time Out
- Helen Souness, Managing Director, Etsy
- Mohammad Al Shehhi, Chief Operating Officer, Dubai Design District
- Ian McClelland, Managing Director, The Guardian, Australia
- Riley Batchelor, Regional Director, General Assembly
- Jayant Murty, Director, Strategy, Media and Integrated Marketing, Intel (Asia Pacific)
- Katie Rigg-Smith, CEO, Mindshare (Australasia)
- Simon Crerar, Editor, Buzzfeed
- Rish Mitra, CEO & Co-Founder, Blippar
They will present alongside our own cultural leaders, including: Katrina Sedgwick (AMCI), Elizabeth Ann Macgregor (MCA), Kim McKay (Australian Museums), Danielle Harvey (Sydney Opera House), Lisa Havalah (Carriageworks), Michael Brand (AGNSW) and Leigh Small (Sydney Film Festival), among others.
REMIX’s model of cross-fertilizationbetween international and local, tech and cultural industries, is what makes it unique and a remarkable “think tank” to elevate creative business planning and audience engagement onto the next step, a new future. REMIX has extended a 15% discount to ArtsHub readers, making it easier for you to be part of the mix.
‘Sydney is cementing its place as a leader in the global digital and creative economy’, said City of Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. NSW is home to 40 per cent of Australia’s creative industries workforce, so the fit is good.
Tullin said that today more and more of the arts world is engaging in the Internet. ‘It’s a thing that’s come into vogue,’ he said adding that, ‘With technology everyone is a DYI maker and, clearly, institutions are responding to that.’ He felt that educating the next generation is the challenge we currently face and are responding to innovatively.
‘The General Assembly really revolutionised that within the tech base, and there are some pioneers within the cultural sector as well,’ he added. ‘As cultural institutions that is what your audience is – a future generation – so you need to understand what the trends are there and how that intersects with your work. That panel is the heart of REMIX.’
Tullin also said “the maker revolution”, the maker magazine and the maker fair, have become topics in traction that will be examined.
Gaming is another industry that has taken a strong foothold, both domestically and globally. ‘It never stays the same,’ said Tullin.
He spoke of gamification trends and how content is going multi-channel where, increasingly, people are creating across different platforms (simultaneously). It is about become more savvy to how content can be used, and that can be learnt from gaming to broader cultural industries.
The bringing together of creative industries through the REMIX model demonstrates the possibilities available to us as cultural thinkers and workers, opportunities often beyond our wildest imagination that could be run and running.
Tullin said that it is all about the growth of the experience economy.
He said of REMIX Sydney: ‘(The program) varies from content creation and distribution to challenging people with pioneer stories to think about the future of cultural spaces and why areas of marketing and retail – inside and outside walls the of cultural spaces – for example, we will be hearing from Director of Marketing of Westfield Group John Batistich – can offer (triggers) to new thinking, to a session on building, engaging and sustaining communities. Etsy lives and dies by their relationship with their sellers, and demonstrates how you create a passionate brand.’
So while the main stage presents big ideas and big inspiration, to the side of the event creative leaders will gather with attendees into Masterclass panel workshops, to unpack those topics further.
And a third stream will be more around conversation which takes the “water fountain” moment and brews it into what Tullin explained as, ‘some dangerous conversation and collaborations. Where else can you sit next to someone from Microsoft Intel and spark collaboration beyond the event?’
Are you game?
Artshub are pleased to be able to offer our readers the chance to attend REMIX with a discount of 15%. Simply use the code ‘artshub’ at remixsummits.com/syd/
REMIX Sydney will be held at Sydney Town Hall from 2-3 June 2015 and is part of Vivid Ideas.
Summits are held annually in London, New York and Dubai and with partners that include Google, Bloomberg and The Guardian.For more information visit REMIX Sydney Summit.
