Over the weekend, EBONY joined forces with Bloomberg Media for an epic dialogue about the creator economy and culture at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
Moderated by Shartia Brantley, the Head of Inclusive Programming at Bloomberg Media, the immersive panel touched upon Black creators' impact on art mediums and how technology can propel these projects forward. Panelists included the multi-hyphenate hip hop legend RZA, director Kenya Barris, rapper Tobe Nwigwe and EBONY's Editor-In-Chief and SVP of Programming Marielle Bobo.
Barris spoke to how his Khalabo Ink Society collective fosters collaboration and partnership among artists and creatives. Echoing this, RZA gave his perspective on how partnership manifests in his creative and professional life. The two visionaries also referenced how technology has granted them the means to extend their collaborative partnerships to different pockets of industry and innovation.
To this point, Bobo elaborated on how EBONY has been in the process of experimenting with digital content while prioritizing its storied legacy. "When EBONY revamped two years ago, we were faced with the question of how do we take this 77 year old brand that is respected in the business—especially now that it has been primarily digital-first and we are not printing regularly—and having the continued connectivity between fans of the brand and the new generation."
"[EBONY] has really been pushing the envelope with our covers, which are the thing that folks have come to know us for and have come to collect," continued EBONY's editor-in-chief. "So we asked ourselves, how we can take this element and reimagine it in the digital space which we have been doing monthly.'"
Nwigwe also resonated with the nature of problem-solving to maximize his creative potential and visibility, especially through social media. "I've learned to leverage technology throughout the whole process of building my brand. I had to learn how to market myself by force and not by choice because everything has been done via social media such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter," he shared.
