ATX Man gets the scoop from our 2014 spring cover man, Hugh Forrest, director of the SXSW Interactive Conference.
By Hugh Forrest
Perhaps the biggest single change for this year’s event is the addition of the new JW Marriott Hotel at Fourth Street and Congress Avenue. With four floors of meeting space, this venue will host the highest number of sessions for 2015. Beyond all the panels and solo presentations, the JW Marriott will serve as home for the SXSW Job Market on March 12 and 13. (The SXSW Job Market is free to attend; no badge is required.) The JW Marriott will also be the site of the new SX Health and MedTech Expo on March 16 and 17. The addition of this exhibition to the SXSW lineup plays well with the Dell Medical School and the city’s fast-growing bio- tech ecosystem.
The presence of the JW Marriott also allows us to double the size of Startup Village at the Hilton Austin Hotel. For 2015, Startup Village will occupy both the fourth and sixth floors of this venue, and this increase in size reflects the continued strength of the global startup community. Yes, we said global. Much of the increase in startup-related programming for 2015 is a result of the significant increase in international participation at SXSW. More and more people from throughout the world want to be part of what makes Austin awesome in the spring. And the new direct flight from Heathrow to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport makes this international participation easier than ever before.
Confused and overwhelmed by all the new elements at this year’s event? Don’t be. At its
core, SXSW Interactive hasn’t changed since it launched way back in the dark ages of 1994. Forget the new names, the new venues and the new gadgets; the focus on very creative people making important one-on-one, career-enhancing connections with other very creative people hasn’t changed much during the last 20-plus years. Match that goal with the abundance of year-round creativity in Austin, and you have the formula for another magical March.
Forrest photo by Andrew Chan. SXSWi photos by Vanessa Velazquez and Rich Denis