St. Louis will step onto the global stage this year at South by Southwest 2023, one of the largest annual gatherings of global leaders in business, innovation, music, film, entertainment, and culture.
“South by Southwest is one of the most sought-after annual conferences in the world, attended by leaders and innovators in business, entertainment, and culture. Getting our STLMade innovators in front of them to share the special work we are doing here in St. Louis is critical to our efforts to put our metro in the global innovation spotlight and drive entrepreneurial growth,” said Jason Hall, CEO of Greater St. Louis, Inc.
“Most cities are lucky to have one panel selected, that St. Louis has two is a testament to the creativity, innovation, and collaboration we have here and that went into developing these panels.” The two panels were selected out of 3,500 submissions from across the globe; only 10% of the panels submitted were selected.
Friday, March 10
The Future of Search: The Rise of Social Search Among GenZ
Laura Vestal, Invisibly
2:30-3:30 p.m.
JW Marriott, Salon GH
SXSW Schedule Page
How to Achieve Gigatonne Scale Carbon Removal
Bradley Rochlin, Running Tide
2:30-3:30 p.m.
Austin Marriott Downtown Waller Ballroom C
SXSW Schedule Page
Reverse Pitch: Innovative Cities & Regions @ Innovation Bridge
St. Louis is a place where you can Start Up, Stand Out, and Stay.
Jess Bellomo, Arch Grants
Will Bubenik, CurbCutOS
Tara Nesbitt, Harmonee
Akeem Shannon, FlipStik
5-7:30 p.m.
Wax Myrtle at Thompson Hotel
Eventbrite
Saturday, March 11
Panel: “Plants, People & Planet: Microbes Rule Health”
Rodrigo Perez Ortega, Science Magazine
Rebecca Bart, PhD, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Drew Schwartz, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
Nick Goeser, Carbon A List
2:30-3:30 p.m.
JW Marriott
SXSW Schedule Page
Microbes are the big reality impacting health of plants, people and the planet that keeps getting overlooked. These beneficial bacteria and fungi form communities called microbiomes that have an outsized impact on the health of people and our planet. The biodiversity of soil and plant microbiomes links to the biodiversity of microbiomes in our guts. Science is radically rethinking agriculture & forestry practices, food systems design, personalized medicine, nutrition, and pathways to optimal health and mitigating climate change.
In this session, experts across these areas explain in everyday language the nature of microbiomes, their ability to predict biological health, the pressures that compromise microbiomes, and their potential to heal some of our greatest societal challenges.
Sunday, March 12
Climate Repair, Ocean Health, and Carbon Removal
Bradley Rochlin, Running Tide
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Austin Marriott Downtown Waller Ballroom C
SXSW Schedule Page
Bridging the Gap: Innovations in Ecosystem Building & Capital Allocation
Gabe Angieri, Arch Grants
3-4 p.m.
Midwest House
Half Step Bar, 75 1/2 Rainey Street
STLMade Takeover at Midwest House, an experiment in regional collaboration and a home away from home for Midwesterners at SXSW
4-7:30 p.m.
Meet the people who are shattering outdated notions about life in the heartland. With a lineup that includes St. Louis startups, panel discussions, music, art, food and beer, the STLMade takeover will be an immersive showcase of the city’s creativity and innovation. So whether you have ties to St. Louis or have only dreamed of riding to the top of the Arch, be sure to stop by and experience the amazing things happening in St. Louis, Missouri.
Midwest House
Half Step Bar, 75 1/2 Rainey Street
Eventbrite
STLMade Takeover Event: Reparative Futures: How Arts and Affordable Housing are Reimaging St. Louis
4-6 p.m.
Pacia Elaine Anderson, Written, Visual, Spoken & Teaching Word Artist
Damon Davis, Musician, Visual Artist & Filmmaker
Chris Hansen, Kranzberg Arts Foundation
James McAnally, Counterpublic
Kaveh Razani, St. Louis Art Place Initiative
A community full of art is a community full of culture. Yet, research confirms that the majority of artists are barely surviving financially, and a very real consequence of skyrocketing housing costs is artist displacement and the erosion of culture in our communities. We know this is nothing new in the shaping of cities over the last century. How do we engage these longstanding inequities, both past and present, and ensure the future is one rooted in repair? Two parallel projects in St. Louis — Counterpublic 2023 and the St. Louis Art Place Initiative — are taking innovative approaches to repairing historic harms and creating new pathways for community-led development, sustainable land use, and artist-engaged action to uplift neighborhoods.
STLMade Takeover Music by Mvstermind
6-7 p.m.
It’s an absolute pleasure to bring the fresh and ripe sound of Mvstermind and St. Louis’ music renaissance that is rapidly elevating to places unimaginable. We’re planting seeds where they need to be starting on this magical night at Midwest House as we begin to open the bridge between two of this country’s most rich and respected musical cities. Mvstermind is a hip-hop artist and the director of musical experience for St. Louis CITY SC.
Monday, March 13
Net-Zero by 2040: Hype or Hope?
Dedric Carter, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis
Bob Elfanbaum, Tolam Earth and Object Computing
Kelly Gillespie, Climate LLC/ Bayer Crop Science
Nick Reinke, HabiTerre
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Midwest House
Half Step Bar, 75 1/2 Rainey Street
>> Watch Video Recording
To avert the worst impacts of climate change, the world needs to achieve “net zero” global greenhouse-gas emissions by 2044-2050, according to the latest United Nations IPCC Report on the Earth’s climate system. One group of innovators from St. Louis is bullish that this vision can be realized as early as 2040. In this panel, leaders from three different companies discuss how technology is being harnessed and connected to create a credible, efficient, and transparent marketplace that incentivizes corporations, capital, and human behavior to move in the same direction toward science-based targets that sustain our planet’s health.
Panel: Using Tech to Create an Immersive Fan Experience
Jim McKelvey, Square (now Block), Invisibly, and LaunchCode
Matt Sebek, St. Louis CITY SC
David Bruce, Major League Soccer
Loryn Nalic, Balkan Treat Box
2:30-3:30 p.m.
Four Seasons Ballroom CD
South by Southwest Schedule
St. Louis CITY SC, Major League Soccer’s 29th and first majority female-owned team, takes the pitch in March 2023 with a new urban stadium built through a global pandemic. In this panel discussion, Club leaders share how they used cross-industry research, behavioral science, crowd-sourcing, community engagement, and a mobile-first approach to create a unique fan experience—from designing the team’s identity and stadium to curating its music and food program, and everything in between.
Fireside Chat with Inc. Magazine
Jim McKelvey, Square (now Block), Invisibly, and LaunchCode
4:20 p.m.
Inc. Founders House
Foxy's Proper Pub, 201 Brazos Street
Request an Invitation
About SXSW
South by Southwest is an essential destination for global professionals, the annual March event features sessions, music and comedy showcases, film screenings, exhibitions, professional development, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. Join us from March 10-19 in Austin, Texas for the 2023 SXSW Conference & Festivals.
Hashtags
For news and updates on the St. Louis team at SXSW 2023, and to follow and promote on social media, use the hashtags #STLMade #SXSW (used together).