Imani Ellis spent years looking for a space in New York City to serve as a cultural and networking hub for Black professionals and creatives of color like herself. She attended small-scale events, considering the many ways she would do it differently and better. She recalled a famous quote by President Barack Obama: We are the ones we've been waiting for. And it hit her. Maybe I had to be the one to create what I was looking for.
Cue CultureCon, a leading cultural destination for-and by-diverse creatives and young professionals. Imani's original idea was a bimonthly gathering of 10 friends and friends of friends in her apartment eating tacos. Over time and with the help of many collaborators, the idea grew into the experience boasting 3,000+ attendees that it is today. I'm always so in awe that these brave spaces resonate with the larger community, Imani told For the Record.
This year, CultureCon New York has expanded into a full weekend conference with a block party and a career fair. As Imani put it, It's a year of a lot of firsts -including a collaboration with Spotify. We are the streaming home for the official CultureCon playlist, and this weekend we will host an interactive Hear Me Out audio booth at Activation Alley. We'll also run CultureCon's first-ever live Talk That Talk podcast pitch contest cohosted by Lovers & Friends podcast host Shan Boodram.
Ahead of the convention this weekend, For the Record talked to both Imani and Shan about collaborations, communication, and culture.
First up, Imani Ellis.
What are some notable moments that have come out of past CultureCons? One of the biggest collaborations that I'm proud of happens within our team. We are a group of about 25 individuals, and everyone's a unicorn with a unique perspective. The gumbo that is CultureCon is such a collaborative effort. I think it's a space where we can disagree on things and wildly agree on other things. And what comes out of that collaboration is culture. And so I like to say that CultureCon is kind of like a love story to our community.
Another story that I'm proud of is Mark Clennon-an incredible photographer and a dear friend. He was our first-ever portrait photographer and shoots our talent every year. He's gone on to shoot the cover of TIME magazine and incredible projects like that. CultureCon is growing, his star is growing. It's really inspiring to be able to grow our community and see it evolve over time.
Why is it especially important to provide networking opportunities for Black entrepreneurs and creators? Access and equity is so crucial. We don't know what we don't know. I have a background in publicity, but I didn't know I could be a publicist until I met a publicist. There's so many resources that we are providing within the ecosystem that we're creating a CultureCon. For example, students get to attend CultureCon for free and experience many different opportunities before they even leave college and begin their career journey.
And I think at a bare minimum, we all deserve a space where we can truly be our whole self. There's a level of holding your breath as a Black person in America, that is just a part of the experience, whether you're navigating different corporate roles or just navigating the world. It's so important to come into a space and know that it was built for you-that we're not just asking you to fit into a box-there's a relief that washes over you when a space has been built with you in mind. We want to provide relief.
How do you stay on top of culture and trends? What podcasts, shows, audiobooks, or publications do you follow? I'm a New York Times girl. I come from a publicity background, so I have a lot of diverse streams of content. I also read The Shade Room and watch and listen to NowThis; I love snackable pieces of information. How I Built This is another personal favorite. My group chat keeps me super current and serves as my newsroom. So if I'm missing something, and let's be honest, my goodness, the cycle never ends, the group chat keeps me on my toes.
Everyone should watch the first two seasons of The Bear. I cried like a baby. My sister is a chef and I felt it on a molecular level. It's incredible story writing and fantastic watching. Currently, I'm reading Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin and I'm about halfway through. I also love We Can Do Hard Things, Glennon Doyle's podcast, and Oprah's Super Soul Sunday. When it comes to audiobooks, I'm looking forward to listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear and More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth.
Spotify is honored to host the official CultureCon playlist. What do you want to see on that playlist? I definitely want to see some SZA, Usher, Burna Boy, Fred Hammond, and Kendrick Lamar. I wanna see Ice Spice. A little bit of Cardi B and some Offset. And Outkast. (I'm from Atlanta, so we absolutely need to sprinkle something from the South in there.) We just want to have people really excited, high energy. It's a celebration after all!
How does Spotify align to the CultureCon mission? What are you most looking forward to in our partnership? I love any partnership that incorporates something that I'm already utilizing in my life. So when I think about our partnership with Spotify and I think about how important music is to culture, it feels natural and seamless to amplify Spotify's platform and amplify how important music is to our culture. Together we're working on the incredible podcast pitch program. The DMs have been crazy, our audience is so excited. It's such a testament to Spotify's dedication to creatives and creators to do this contest and I'm really excited to see what comes out of it!
Talk That Talk This year at Cult
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Imani Ellis spent years looking for a space in New York City to serve as a cultural and networking hub for Black professionals and creatives of color like herself. She attended small-scale events, considering the many ways she would do it differently and better. She recalled a famous quote by President Barack Obama: We are the ones we've been waiting for. And it hit her. Maybe I had to be the one to create what I was looking for. 
