Lake FX CreativeCon: Midwest’s Largest FREE Conference For Emerging Artists and Creative Professionals Returns For Third Year

Apr 15, 2017 James Currie Breaking News, Music News, This Just In 0

CHICAGO’S LAKE FX CREATIVECON PRESENTED BY GOOGLE IS

APRIL 21 & 22 AT THE CHICAGO CULTURAL CENTER

The countdown begins – FREE programs includes conversations with industry leaders, live A&R Audition performances, one-on-one career advice, professional development workshops and networking events

The third annual Lake FX CreativeCon presented by Google, the Midwest’s largest FREE conference for emerging artists and creative professionals, is April 21–22, at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.). Highlights include more than 50 workshops and panels, keynote conversations with Kevin Liles, Co-Founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment and CEO of KWL Management, on April 21 and comic book creator and artist Alex Ross on April 22; live A&R audition performances; one-on-one career advice sessions; and much more.

All Lake FX CreativeCon events are free and open to everyone working in, or aspiring to work in, creative fields such as music, dance, theater, art and design. The full schedule can be found at LakeFXChicago.us.

Keynote Speakers: Kevin Liles on Friday, April 21 and Alex Ross on Saturday, April 22

Music and entertainment executive Kevin Liles, co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment and CEO of KWL Management, will deliver the keynote address on Friday, April 21, at 5 p.m. The highly anticipated discussion Kevin Liles in conversation with Kevin Coval will cover how to stay ahead of the curve to discover what’s next in the music industry along with tips on career building and much more.

On Saturday, April 22, at 3 p.m., Lake FX CreativeCon will feature The State of the Art with Alex Ross and Robert Milazzo of The Modern School of Film and Murmur Radio. Join legendary comic book creator and artist Alex Ross and Robert Milazzo, founder of The Modern School of Film and Murmur Radio, as they explore current modalities, highs, lows, future visions and professional trends for audiences and practitioners of film, television, comic books and performance.

Lake FX A&R Auditions and Live Music Performances

Lake FX CreativeCon will once again present A&R Auditions, offering twenty Chicagoland-based artists and bands the opportunity to showcase their work live in front of major label A&R (Artist & Repertoire) executives as well as a live audience. All auditions are open to the public to enjoy on Friday, April 21, 1–4 p.m. and Saturday, April 22, 5–8 p.m. Genres represented include hip hop, rock, folk, alternative, country and electronic. Participating artists will soon be announced at LakeFXChicago.us. All artists were pre-selected by application, and no walk-in auditions will be available.

ACCESS Lab

New to Lake FX for 2017, ACCESS Lab is an energized resource fair connecting participants with industry leaders and organizations through fun and informative one-on-one talks and small group activities. Businesses and industry organizations such as High Concept Labs, Fractured Atlas, Etsy, Arts Alliance Illinois, Lawyers for the Creative Arts and more will be onsite to discuss your marketing and branding initiatives, review portfolios, provide access to legal information, assess and guide your pitching and fundraising strategy or business plan, and offer fun hands-on activities for Chicago-based creative artists and entrepreneurs. The ACCESS Lab will take place daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Friday, April 21 Panel Highlights

Grow Your Business and Brand Online with Google at 10:30 a.m. will provide an overview of Google tools that help businesses and brands grow online. The conversation will cover everything from measuring your website’s mobile-friendliness to promoting a brand on YouTube.

Entrepreneurship and Digital Strategies for Hispanic Artists by Stereotheque at 10:30 a.m. is a gathering of music industry professionals discussing opportunities available for multicultural artists, brand partnerships and effective digital strategies.

The Necessity of LatinX Theater by the Alliance of Latinx Theater Artists (ALTA) Chicago at 11 a.m. is a conversation led by Aguijon Theater’s Marcela Munoz on the intersection of art and civic strategy in the city’s Latinx theater community.

Future of Music and Technology by 2112 at noon will feature 2112, Pandora and others discussing how new technologies and the evolving digital landscape are impacting the music industry.

ChicagoMade: Creative Hubs by World Business Chicago at 1 p.m. brings together leaders from Chicago’s creative industry incubators 2112, mHUB, Stage 18 and Life Creative to discuss why Chicago is home to so much ingenuity and visionary entrepreneurship.

During Beats to Bucks: Producer Panel at 3 p.m., WGCI DJ Moondawg leads a conversation with Chicago’s top young producers on how to make it out of the city while still representing their hometown glory.

A Conversation with Tonya Saracho at 3 p.m. is a conversation with playwright and television writer Tanya Saracho and Sandra Delgado, Columbian-American actor, singer and writer born and raised in Chicago, both discussing their experiences writing for television and the stage.

Saturday, April 22 Panel Highlights

Funding for Artists the Inside Scoop by 3Arts at noon will include representatives from 3Arts, Creative Capital and the New England Foundation for the Arts discussing examples of winning grant applications along with the arts organizations that wrote them.

Songwriting with Phonte & Rhymefest by Donda’s House Inc. at noon features a Grammy^® and Oscar Award-winning songwriter interviewing one of R & B & hip hop’s most loved and insightful artists. Having collaborated with multiple vocalists and emcees, Phonte will describe his creative process, his approach to collaboration and his method for working in multiple genres.

Maker to Market by World Business Chicago at 1 p.m. presents pioneering product designers, artists and entrepreneurs blazing new trails discussing how they bring products to the public in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

State of Chicago House Music by the Chosen Few DJs at 1:30 p.m. will feature Chosen Few DJs Alan King, Wayne Williams and Terry Hunter for a discussion of the history and present state of Chicago house music.

How To Make An Extra 100K Next Year at 4:30 p.m. features SAE Institute Chicago’s Music Business Department Chair Martin Atkins sharing his tricks, tips and ideas from a lifetime in the business to make a material difference for your coming year.

New Walls: Fresh Space for Artists to Occupy by Sixty Inches From Center at 4:30 p.m. brings together some of the newest galleries around the city showcasing emerging artists. They will share the basics of what it means to run a gallery space including how they choose artists, how they keep the lights on and how they build an audience.

Additionally, the virtual reality (VR) experience CVRTAIN, from the Emmy award-winning experiential director Yehuda Duenyas, will put participants virtually center stage for a personalized, acting experience. Beginning once the curtain parts, an audience appears and every action produces a different reaction from the audience: thunderous applause, feet stomping, cameras flashing, maybe even booing, but only until the curtain closes. The installation will be open during Lake FX each day between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Google and sponsored in part by the Chicago Transit Authority, Lake FX CreativeCon takes place April 21 and 22 at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St.) and all aspects of the event are FREE. For more information, please visitLakeFXChicago.us and join the conversation on Facebook (Lake FX Chicago), Twitter (@LakeFXChicago #LakeFX) and Instragram (ChicagoDCASE #LakeFX). To plan your trip to Chicago for the Lake FX CreativeCon, visit choosechicago.com