SXSW 2024: Experiential Essentials

SXSW is much more than a film fest — this year’s event calendar offers something for everyone, with an endless array of things to see and do.

It’s here! After much breathless anticipation and a near-daily barrage of major announcements, the world-renowned multimedia festival SXSW is back for its 2024 edition.

I recently shared some of the films I’m incredibly excited about, and trying to fit even half of them into my viewing schedule would be challenging. However, SXSW isn’t just an unfathomably good film festival. It’s also packed full of unforgettable events and experiences, making it impossible to do all the cool things the festival has to offer. Still, I’m going to give it my best shot!

Here’s a rundown of all the must-do activities that are high on my radar. Stay tuned for a full report of what I see, do, and experience at SXSW 2024.

QUEENS ART INSTALLATION

National Geographic has partnered with experiential marketing agency Idlewild to produce and display a large-scale, high-impact art installation at SXSW inspired by the themes in the seven-part docu-series QUEENS, which premiered on March 4th on National Geographic and is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Drawing inspiration from the series, the mural will incorporate themes of female empowerment and elements from nature.

Renowned BIPOC muralist and community organizer Erin Yoshi is leading the composition and installation of the project. She has 20+ years of experience in social arts practice and has painted over 100 murals around the globe.

The installation will take place from March 3rd – March 8th at the East Austin Hotel (1108 E 6th St) and will be on display from March 8th through the duration of the festival.

THE LODGE BY PARAMOUNT+

Paramount+ is a total household offering featuring iconic franchises and beloved characters. The magic of the Mountain of Entertainment™ campaign is that the service’s unmatched content is showcased in an authentic and interesting way that draws in consumers. Paramount+’s The Lodge is the next iteration of the campaign, offering a unique and immersive experience that brings Paramount Mountain to life.

As The Lodge makes its way to SXSW 2024, the experience will welcome festival goers with a cabin-like vibe where they can relax and sip on refreshments before continuing their adventure.

On the Clive Bar’s first floor, guests will feel like they just stepped into the heart of Chicago’s South Side, where they can pose for a photo on the stoop and enjoy a sweet treat in celebration of THE CHI (Paramount+ with Showtime).

Attendees will also notice an unmissable pink room, where they can step inside the world of MEAN GIRLS (2024) and try a themed cocktail called ‘The Plastics’, all the while taking a read through the infamous Burn Book.

HALO fans will encounter the mystical Covenant artifact, the relic of an alien civilization. Upon leaving the artifact’s sanctum, fans will have the opportunity to explore costumes and props from the set and snag exclusive HALO-branded mirror sunglasses.

Just up the stairs, SXSW loyalists will be welcomed back to the INK MASTER chair to celebrate the artistry and passion behind tattoo culture and get their very own temporary airbrush tattoo while they’re at it.

Wandering on the second floor, they will find themselves at the heart of the final frontier and be able to step onto the iconic bridge of the U.S.S. Discovery. With ambient lighting and high-tech displays, consumers will feel like they’ve stepped into the shoes of a Starfleet captain from STAR TREK: DISCOVERY commanding a vessel in the far reaches of the galaxy while they pose for a picture.

The LAWMEN: BASS REEVES space overlooking Rainey Street will give attendees the opportunity to engage with and step straight into history to see if they are on Bass Reeves’ WANTED list or if they are on the right side of the law before leaving with a U.S. Deputy Marshal badge.

Guests will also be able to snap a photo in front of the Paramount Mountain and be invited into The Lodge Confessional, an interactive booth where they’ll share their thoughts, strategies, and personal experiences just like the cast of SURVIVOR with a chance to make it onto the show’s official social media channels.

In addition to exploring the most celebrated titles on Paramount+, attendees will experience the world of CBS Sports at The Paramount+ Pub. Here, they will play various games such as the hook and ring toss or a UEFA Champions Lea

This experience takes place at The Clive Bar (609 Davis St, Austin, TX 78701) at various times from March 8-11, with times for the public and for SXSW Badge Holders)

THE FIRST OMEN CONFESSIONAL BOOTH

The interactive “Confessional Booth” inspired by the upcoming film, THE FIRST OMEN (in theaters April 5), is an immersive 2-minute experience that will be at SXSW March 8-10 from 12 pm-8 pm, at two locations downtown (712 Congress Avenue and 310 E 2nd Street). It’s free to the public, with priority access given to SXSW badge holders.

Guests who dare to enter will uncover a terrifying secret behind the birth of evil, leaving them with the only physical proof that a sinister unholy conspiracy is at work —  a creepy Polaroid photo enclosed in a file folder containing “the only proof of an unholy conspiracy behind the birth of true evil.” The contents of the folder will be crea5vely branded with photo-worthy, in-world film elements for a fully immersive experience from beginning to end.

Guests are encouraged to share their photos from the experience on social media: Instagram: @20thcenturystudios #TheFirstOmen

THE AUDIBLE SOUND EXPERIENCE

Audible invites SXSW attendees to explore The Audible Sound Experience from Friday, March 8, through Sunday, March 10. Located a few blocks from the Convention Center (220 Congress Ave) and open to the public daily, the amusements will immerse guests in the magic and diversity of premium audio storytelling through interactive, over-the-top, carnival-inspired experiences. Follow along at #SXSWxAudible.

The Audible Sound Experience includes:

• Rides on a larger-than-life Ferris wheel with audio-enabled passenger gondolas, offering guests a distinctive experience listening to Audible content spanning genres including pop culture, celebrity memoirs, non-fiction, romance, wellbeing, mystery/thriller, and more.
• Carnival-inspired games showcasing the diverse selection of Audible’s premium audio entertainment with the opportunity to earn Audible-themed prizes.
• Classic beverages and concessions, including corn dogs, cotton candy, and popsicles, will be available alongside festive-themed listening moments for festival-goers to enjoy.

Listeners can dive into immersive audio and experience the power of imagination with this curated selection of Audible stories from across various genres for SXSW 2024 and more: audible.com/sxsw

Valeo Racer

Valeo, a world leader in mobility technology, will present a world-first: Valeo Racer, a new extended reality in-car gaming experience for passengers developed using Unity. With Valeo Racer, every ride becomes a special and fun experience, be it for a short commute or a longer journey. The game integrates the vehicle’s real surroundings, including buildings, roads, and traffic, offering unique experiences and challenges every time.

Valeo Racer is the first extended reality video game to combine live video and world perception of the real environment with digital gaming elements. A software stack developed by Valeo generates the “infinite runner” game. It uses the vehicle’s existing Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS), including cameras, radar and ultrasonic sensors, and artificial intelligence perception algorithms to insert the car’s real-time environment data into Unity’s Runtime to generate game elements.

The result allows passengers to play on their phones or tablets connected to in-vehicle Wi-Fi and even compete with each other during trips

Valeo will have a demonstration area at Comedor (501 Colorado Street), March 10-12.

Salvador Dali, AI, and the Future of Creativity

Expect nothing short of fantastical when one of the world’s most innovative museums and one of the most creative advertising agencies come together for a panel discussion at SXSW. The Dalí Museum and Goodby Silverstein & Partners have collaborated for years, using cutting-edge technologies to share the life and work of Salvador Dalí, one of the most influential and forward-thinking artists of the 20th century.

In this thought-provoking session, ‘Salvador Dalí, AI, and The Future of Creativity,’ the panelists will explore how innovation shapes art appreciation, ultimately sharing their vision of the future of creativity as they imagine the evolution of artistic expression in the next half-century.

On March 12, during the panel from 2:30-3:30 at the Austin Convention Center, The Dalí Museum and Goodby Silverstein & Partners will unveil their latest groundbreaking innovation, ‘Ask Dalí.’ This prototype, powered by several modern Machine Learning models, including GPT-4 and Whisper from OpenAI and Eleven V2 from ElevenLabs, will connect the visitor with the artist like never before, allowing a real-time conversation that is interactive, dynamic, and unpredictable, just like Dalí himself.

Prime Video Fallout

In celebration of one of the world’s most beloved and iconic video game franchises, Prime Video will return to Austin’s iconic Hotel San José (1316 South Congress Avenue, Austin, TX) during SXSW 2024 to immerse fans in the post-apocalyptic world of their upcoming highly anticipated Original Series Fallout, premiering on April 12, and see if they have what it takes to survive.

Prime Video is creating an in-world experience for SXSW attendees to get a first look at the series and imagine themselves as vault dwellers journeying into the harsh outside wasteland society for the first time, just like Lucy (Ella Purnell).

Located in the heart of Austin’s vibrant South Congress neighborhood, Prime Video will transform the Hotel San José parking lot on March 8 from 12 PM to 6 PM and March 9 from 10 AM to 6 PM into Filly, a bustling wasteland shanty town outside of the Vaults that appears to have been the result of nuclear fallout.

With junk, repurposed vehicles, and rust serving as the town’s backbone, guests (or fellow vault dwellers) will enter Filly through an old sewer tunnel, where they will be greeted by local residents (and maybe a few radroaches here and there) warning them about the harsh reality they are about to experience.

Venturing through Filly, attendees will witness how unpleasant and dangerous outside of the Vaults actually is as they take in sights and sounds from wandering laze about and aggressive locals selling their wares and what seems to be the local cuisine.

Further into the settlement, guests will come across some locals playing the ‘Shell Game’ in front of Ma June’s, the local sundries and trading post where the friendly shopkeeper will teach them a thing or two about collecting bottle caps. They will also be able to use the ‘Vault 33 Resident Portal (Va.R.P.)’ to complete scavenger quests.

Attendees will be able to bite on some snacks like Fancy Lad Snack Cakes or a cut of ass jerky before they try their hand at lassoing the (sort-of) taxidermied wasteland creatures or test their shot with ‘Junk Jets’ in the shooting gallery. While adventuring through Filly, visitors may even witness the town’s rival factions engaging in fisticuffs over the fate of a rumored vault dweller.

Arterie House at Augustine Cocktail Lounge

The Arterie, a dynamic women-owned and led creative advertising agency, will participate in SXSW with a two-day immersive experience featuring panels, watch parties, one-of-a-kind immersive experiences, industry mixers, and an announcement and first-look into Texasland USA on March 10-11 at Augustine Cocktail Lounge (86 Rainey St, Austin, Texas 78701).

Keeping in mind The Arterie’s commitment to creating impactful, sustainable, and scalable art, the two-day experience will feature panels covering topics such as creative advertising in the modern world, production, sustainability, and creativity in a changing film and TV landscape, the Hollywood Climate, and more. Guests will also have to opportunity to network at the All Entertainment Business (AEB) Organization panel and mixer with AEB Founder Jennifer Hutchins and keynote speaker Zachary Levi, attend an Oscar watch party with the Montana Film Commission, and immerse themselves in the Jurassic World experience with a special guest from the exhibit’s baby dino.

For a full schedule and all registration links, please visit Eventbrite. For more details, including the Arterie House, visit https://thearterie.com/sxsw-2024/.

XR Competition

SXSW’s Annual XR Competition is a virtual playground of innovation and cutting-edge technology, showcasing a broad range of themes, practices, and applications — from AI to AR to virtual reality, and more.

From a powerful first-in-the-world Virtual Reality (VR) exploration of Holocaust memory, which uses cutting-edge technology to take you on a journey with real-life Holocaust survivors, to a Mixed Reality experience that explores what it means to live with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), to a VR journey taking you into the depths of Northern Ireland’s stunning Tullyard cave system and live performances from Eli Crossley’s Smart Suit-fronted band, Askew, this year’s program will redefine the boundaries of immersive storytelling.

The exhibition includes the world premiere of Eliza McNitt’s newest work, ASTRA.

Hidden in the lost belongings of an Astrobiologist are clues for the journey ahead. Welcome to “Astra,” your ticket to the stars. This Mixed Reality Experience transports you from Earth to the deepest corners of the cosmos as you embark on a quest to uncover the key ingredients of life in the Universe. Step foot on planets and their dark moons in search of future worlds and far-away beings.

IMPULSE (PREVIEW) invites you to follow the colorful and occasionally chaotic inner workings of our brains to discover how we process and make sense of the world. The narrative truly begins when you settle in, as four characters’ stories spill out into your real-life environment through breathtaking MR.

SHADOWTIME is a new word coined for our age, describing the feeling of occupying two irreconcilable times simultaneously. In this immersive experience, these temporal incompatibilities are explored in the realm of virtual reality and simulation theory. Alma, a mysterious guide to this double world, leads you through questions about the climate crisis, irreconcilable realities, and the virtual as a place to take shelter.

SOULPAINT exists at the nexus of immersive technology, creative storytelling, and well-being to explore the richness of the embodied human experience. Participants are taken on a journey to explore and creatively express feelings of emotion and sensations in the body. Through the process of body mapping, 3D drawing, and movement, they are invited to reveal their unique inner reality and then observe the creations of others.

THE GOLDEN KEY brings audiences into contact with the mythological dreams of an AI as it writes and visualizes a never-ending story. The AI has been trained on tens of thousands of folk tales from around the world, a dataset of narrative fragments that echo our most basic stories and concerns. As the installation proceeds, an infinite progression of narrative, sight, and sound unfolds as audience members are invited to take on the role of the “trickster” to actively shape the narrative of this generated story and explore the concealed structures that sit behind AI’s purported magic.

TULPAMACER is a machine-learning VR installation that shapes a dreamlike, immersive encounter with the memories and possible futures of each participant. Sitting down at a computer terminal that had been sitting forgotten in a warehouse since 1989, participants first encounter the tulpa through a series of questions about their own lives. They are then invited to meet in a world prepared uniquely for them.

Participants put on a VR headset and are led on a journey by their tulpa through a series of uniquely generated virtual scenes that invoke and question the memories of their past and their potential fates. Ultimately, every interaction produces a unique work that is deleted after its viewing, left only to resonate in the minds of each participant.

THE TENT is a Mixed Reality cinematic tabletop narrative and a glimpse of the future of immersive entertainment. A modern fairy tale set in Los Angeles, “The Tent” interrogates the nature of activism and asks the viewer, “What does it take to live a life according to your deepest held values? Why is it so complicated to be a good person?” A 21-minute experience in two parts for iPadPro, it allows the audience to explore a miniature world from any perspective.

The XR Experience was one of my favorite events at SXSW 2023, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store this year. Trust me, these highlights are just a small sampling of the wondrous encounters that await you.