How SXSW created programming *with* its community 🎨Todd Hansen, SXSW & Artist Rescue Trust
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Episode at a glance:
GUEST: Todd Hansen
COMMUNITY: SXSW and Artist Rescue Trust
HOSTS: Bailey Richardson & Kevin Huynh
“I think if you're going to go to your community and build with them, realize that you're going to have to support and prop them up. It's not a part-time job. It's a full-time thing.” - Todd Hansen
Show Notes
In the Spring of 1987, a group of music fans and journalists organized a small live event in Austin, Texas. Around 700 people showed up. By 2019, South by Southwest (SXSW) had become a 10-day conference and festival with over 28,000 attendees heading to Austin each March.
Each year the conference receives 5,000+ proposals and the programs team, which Todd Hansen led, was tasked to sift through and find the 600 sessions to schedule for the final event.
Though SXSW was canceled last year, that didn’t slow Todd down. He and conspirators saw their artistic friend’s opportunities disappear in the wake of the pandemics—canceled tours, exhibitions, premiers—and responded by creating the Artist Rescue Trust, which dolls out monthly $500 checks to folks who are working full time as artists.
Outside of running programming at SXSW for 10 years, Todd has also run a record label, he’s the person responsible for Rich Kids of Instagram, and once owned and operated an early coach surfing website.
We talked with Todd about sourcing and supercharging leads of SXSW’s session and how he recognized a need and energy to support artists through the pandemic.
Just like when building a fire, there’s an order of operations you can follow to cultivate communities that burn bright.
In our book, “Get Together: How to build community with your people,” we take you through three stages of building a community: sparking the flame, stoking the fire, and passing the torch.
Todd offers insights into the third step: passing the torch.
Determining programming with attendees
Putting on a conference takes a lot of work when you’re starting from scratch. Instead of trying to dream up an entire festival and conference on their own, the SXSW team created the PanelPicker, a technology that allowed them to generate proposals from event attendees.It started from a place of curiosity but there’s been a “wonderful flywheel effect.” SXSW has found success in listening to the masses and identifying what they want to talk about. But, they’ve also had to learn to be okay with disappointing folks who aren’t selected to perform, speak or showcase their work at the event. Only a small percentage of folks are invited to host a session.
Todd described PanelPicker as the scaffold they built for other people to hang their ideas. “You have to believe that that scaffolding is going to hold and then you have to turn those ideas into good content and give people the tools to succeed.”
Supercharging leaders
Once session hosts are selected, Todd and his team set out to empower them with the tools they need to be successful. For a lot of people, it can be their first time in front of an audience or on a panel. It’s intimidating and to some, downright terrifying.
SXSW works with them to unpack their ideas, guide them and share what they’ve seen work and not work in the months leading up to the event. There is a lot of communication that takes place “and it's not a part-time job, it's a full-time thing,” Todd told us. But their efforts are worth it. The quality of the panels these leaders create will determine everyone’s experience of SXSW.
Photo from South by South Lawn® (SXSL), inspired by South by Southwest. SXSL brought together creators, innovators, and organizers who work to improve the lives of their fellow Americans and people around the world. Photo via Todd Hansen.
You can’t fake the funk
SXSW makes their money off their annual event. So, when it was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020, they laid off a third of their employees, Todd included.
Concurrently, the SXSW staff watched as many of their friends’ and past collaborators' book tours fell apart, music shows were canceled, and more. In the face of adversity, a group got on the phone and asked, “how can we help?” They recognized their shared motivation to support artists, many of which they called friends, and made something big happen. The idea for an Artist Trust Fund was spun up.
They recently received a grant for $300,000 and continue to support artists with grants.
👋🏻 Say hi to Todd and learn more about the Artist Rescue Trust.
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