The third time was charming for Cleveland’s FutureLAND Movement as it once again brought together culture creators, tech start-ups, entrepreneurs, innovators and everyone in between. This weekend was all about progressing the local ecosystem. Heavily supported by reputable Cleveland-based and beyond organizations, this 2-day annual conference brought some pretty big names- local and otherwise- to the Cleveland stage, literally and figuratively. Hosted at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square, the conference’s mission of intersecting entrepreneurship, equity & inclusion and culture found its footing, inspiring attendees through the sharing of big ideas and successful stories worth celebrating.
Though the price tag wasn’t huge, my feeds and emails were flooded with promo codes for discounted tickets. It gave me a bit of pause [cause why are you giving tickets away so close to the event…] but hey, it’s Cleveland…and I didn’t want to pass up a local opportunity! I understood the assignment, so off I went. I pulled up just in time to catch the CityClub @ FutureLAND: Everett Taylor (“ET”) session, moderated by Shanelle Smith Whingham. I built anticipation for this by checking out a few podcasts ET had been a recent guest on. What a guy! Instantly impressed… The conversation was a 9/10, only losing a point for some shade towards the Browns, and you just don’t do that in Cleveland! However, ET’s unapologetic and truth-telling nature probably played a big part in his continued success, and that was a lesson for me.
- He ain’t never scared! [Even when DEI initiatives are under attack] Diversity is our strength!
- Be committed to the idea, even if the committees are small. But be realistic!
- Find your audience, they will continue to support you in the future.
- Be caring. [Whew Chile… Lord knows I be trying]
- Playlist faves include Leon Thomas. [Breaking Point is my jam]
- He addressed everyone who asked him a question by name. [Talk about connection]
I left the session with a little pep in my step and joined in on the energy from the crowd. The lobby was full of smiles and introductions, the digital business cards were being scanned and I could sense growth in the air. So I decided to look at the other sessions for the day. I took a little break then hit up the Branding Confidence: Keys to a Captivating Visual Identity Session by Kyra Wells, cause designer are cool. In this session, she presented on the definition of branding, its history, the influences and understanding the assignment as a designer.
My key takeaways from the session were:
- Don’t see yourself as average, and treat your client the same.
- Be specific.
- Design is often instigated by some notion to not be the same.
- Strategy and execution must be aligned.
- Don’t show up messy. [Ha!]
- Designers are personal chefs [Giving what would you like vibes] and Artist are a catered restaurant. [Giving this what we got vibes]
Photo Credit @r.g.frames
Ok just one more…I ended the day at the Closing Keynote Panel: Building a Cultural Empire, moderated by Shaun Crawford of Varsity House. The panel included Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade and Ibrahim Hamad, co-founder of Dreamville Records. And honestly, this panel is probably why you’re getting this blog post. They talked about the notion of having an idea and the influence there of. In an encompassing conversation the entire panel was aligned in their answers of the probing and thoughtful questions. I felt the embrace as the discussion continued to be very reflective and strategic, their insights pressed upon the criticality of using your creative craft to push culture forward in a way that respects your core values and the communities served. Each panelist stressed the importance of hustle, especially in times of constant transitions where adaptation and flexibility is required.
Though they dropped tons of gems, here are the ones that resonated the most with me:
- Embrace the delusion.
- Be excited and be passionate.
- Don’t overthink it.
- If it comes easy, it can easily go.
- And something about a Cleveland Festival. [maybe?]
While many of the sessions overall touched on AI, it was spoken about in a manner of collaboration and not with undertones of skepticism as many of my other conversations have been. An overarching theme that I picked-up on was that this new wave of AI is not only fast approaching, but is widely already here. While it seems inevitable, we do have a great opportunity to learn and use the inevitable to our advantage… and we should, actually… we must.
Anyways, I am glad I showed up for Cleveland! I left inspired and with a little fire to pull a few ideas off the shelf. I learned some new things and was reminded of old lessons. Though my participation was limited to just one day, I’m sure the other conference components were just as impactful. The curation of the panels and speaker topics seemed to align with what the crowd was interested in and provided a good mix of local and national talent. Shout out to the tech bros fully present, the fine range of fashion and the Playhouse Red Coats with the hospitality. Lastly, the FutureLAND founders and organizers deserve a huge round of applause as most do not understand the orchestration of all the pieces and parts it takes to pull off an event of this stature. I’m sure planning for 2025 is already underway!
FutureLAND, for me, was a reminder that the days to come, though unknown, have some really promising potential. Shoutout to all the attendees who left Playhouse Square, went home and immediately got to work. The energy in the space eluded to fresh new ideas, and provided some tips to crack the codes of success. Cheers to the creators in Cleveland who took full advantage of the tools and are ready to go for the win.
mj
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