DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Rene Dominguez
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City-wide
SUBJECT: EHDC Briefing on SXSW 2017 Initiative
SUMMARY:
In 2016, the City’s Economic Development Department (EDD) and Department of Arts & Culture, as well as various community partners including Tech Bloc, the County, EDF, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and others, partnered with non-profit Choose San Antonio (Choose SA) to establish a San Antonio-themed trade show booth and cultural embassy at the SXSW Music, Film, & Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. Following the success of this inaugural SXSW activation, EDD and the Department of Arts & Culture are supporting an expanded San Antonio presence at SXSW 2017. Specifically, the sponsorship will allow for presences at the SXSW Trade Expo (March 12-15), Job Market (March 11-12), and cultural embassy, called “Casa San Antonio” (March 10-12). Participation at SXSW is a joint effort by Choose SA and the community to highlight the city’s strengths and growing opportunities in order to attract talent, startups, and established companies, in line with key issues addressed in the Forward San Antonio: Strategic Plan.
BACKGROUND:
With an emphasis on innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, arts, and culture, the annual SXSW Music, Film, and Interactive Festival in Austin attracts an audience looking for new, cutting edge technology, and innovative ideas, as well as places and spaces for opportunity and growth. The 10-day festival and its 4-day Trade Expo offer a lucrative opportunity for San Antonio to present itself in a way that illustrates the city’s strengths and opportunities. In addition to the Trade Expo booth, Choose SA’s programming includes a two-day presence at the Job Market to highlight San Antonio’s strong employment opportunities, and a cultural embassy on popular Rainey Street, called “Casa San Antonio,” which will host two days of official SXSW programming, four major events to promote San Antonio’s Music Scene, Culinary Offerings, Smart Cities Initiative, and Film Industry, and three days of entrepreneurship mentoring.
With almost 38,000 registered participants in 2016 at SXSW Interactive, nearly 70,000 trade show visitors, and 11,000 job market attendees, SXSW is a prime event and location for showcasing the many ways in which San Antonio is thriving. Support from the City will go towards supporting the presences at the trade expo, job market, and cultural embassy. Participants visiting the San Antonio-themed activations will interact with individuals representing diverse industries and areas of growth such as entrepreneurship, tech, cybersecurity, music and film, art & design, food & beverage, and more.
ISSUE:
EDD is supporting Choose SA’s 2017 SXSW Initiative with $35,000 from the Economic Development Incentive Fund (EDIF), in line with the EDIF Guidelines which allow for the allocation of EDIF dollars for efforts that promote growth in the targeted industries, and projects in support of entrepreneurial development and the creative industries. The Department of Arts & Culture is supporting the initiative with $15,000.
RECOMMENDATION:
This item is a staff briefing and requires no recommendation.