His Majesty The King has visited the inaugural European edition of South by Southwest® (SXSW®) London today, one of the world’s largest festivals across tech, music and the creative industries, rooted in the heart of Shoreditch.
His Majesty was greeted in Ely’s Yard with a performance by The Kingdom Choir before being met by the Deputy Prime Minister, the Mayor of London and the organisers of SXSW London. He visited SXSW London’s Truman Brewery space to view artist Damian Roach’s immersive art installation ‘Grounding’, which uses AI and data to continuously morph landscape images, reflecting how the natural world is constantly adapting and changing. Damian discussed with His Majesty the artwork, his process and the use of AI in creative fields.
Whilst in the exhibition, His Majesty also met Julian Lennon, Mo Brings Plenty, Jean Paul Martinez and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk – panellists for session Love The Earth, part of the festival’s Planet and Energy track.
Following his visit to Truman, His Majesty travelled to another of SXSW London’s 34 venues – Christ Church Spitalfields – to view the exhibition Beautiful Collisions, which explores the contribution from the Caribbean to British art and culture. With a mix of visual arts, community and music, the exhibition centres around work by a range of artists including Alberta Whittle, Denzil Forrester, Zinzi Minott and others. The King met with curator Beth Greenacre and artist Denzil Forrester, before moving upstairs to the nave to a reception with artists, local residents, speakers, SXSW London’s advisory council and senior staff.
Commenting on the visit, CEO of SXSW London Max Alexander said: “In the inaugural year of South by South West London we are honoured to welcome His Majesty The King to Shoreditch. The festival is a profound acknowledgment of the strength of the United Kingdom’s broad cultural and business landscape, its artists and entrepreneurs and the importance of breaking down the silos that separate those domains.”
The festival includes a conference strand with global leaders from the technology and creative industries, with speakers including Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Idris Elba and wide-ranging Screen and Music Festivals. In a first for SXSW London the festival also features an interdisciplinary arts programme showcasing the intersection of the arts, technology and creativity that is central to the festival’s ethos as a whole.
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