When I started Framed Noise, it began with a simple realisation: a single photograph is just one frame of a much louder story. It’s about that raw, unfiltered energy of the creative scene, from sweat-soaked basements to high-intensity festival stages, and keeping a real, honest connection between the frame and the noise.

Last post (here) saw one of the many independent artists I work with tell their stories, this time I am looking at the bigger picture talking about part of the industry itself.

Last month, I packed up my (heavy) camera gear to cover SXSW London for Musicology Magazine. It was a massive production full of high-profile names, heavy tech, and big promises. While walking miles between venues in Shoreditch/Brick Lane, I found myself thinking deeply about what I heard, the actual reality of the creative pipeline, the accessibility of the arts, and what it truly means to stay "real" today.

This chapter of Framed Noise is my honest, unfiltered take on the highs, the lows, and what went down at SXSW London.

SXSW London Unfiltered

There were a few clear themes that came up overall across the sessions I followed: democratisation and accessibility, socialism and better social values, reality and the need to feel real.

1-Democratisation and Accessibility:
This is especially true for those who want to start a career in the arts, whether it be in music or filmography, photography or acting. As of today, it feels even more elite and for the very few. People struggle to access the right connections, and there's a fear of future talent not being nurtured and prepared for future work in the industry.

In the (approximate) words of Nadia Fall, OBE (Artistic Director at Young Vic Theatre) during her talk with Mia Bays (Director at BFI):

"We need the government to step in to allow schools... especially public ones... to bring more of the performing arts into schools and make it for everyone. It's a system that more and more is about people with money... there is nowhere else where to practise for future producers, directors, actors (and so on)... before they had access to small clubs, theatres and pubs to run their plays but those realities are all gone... the pipeline talent is at risk, there is lack of practice more than lack of actual talent."

This overall feeling was also shared by British actor Hugh Bonneville in his opening talk with Sir Chris Bryant (Minister of Trade).

2- Socialism & Social Values:
There is a massive need for better social values in terms of equality and building communities. This was a theme that Ben (from Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream), actress Sophia Bush, and Rose Wang (Bluesky) really stressed. There is a need to leverage online communities to build real ones offline—to fight for our education, for our rights, for real content and information to be shared, and to give power to content creators rather than social media platforms (this especially referred to the current advertising models and content that gets pushed out).

There is also a need to revisit the politically correct and start creating, once again, actual debates. We live in a society where "people want stories but in reality there aren't interesting conversations and debates" (Nadia Fall, OBE). This last quote is pretty much a great summary of what many others on those stages mentioned, including Piers Morgan.

Another quote that I really liked was said by Sophia Bush (in approximately these words):

"Organise online action together as you would in person...
organise your follower to post on the same topic/issue at the same time to help beat the algorithm...
so that content can be seen."

The highlight moment for me was the standing ovation for Ben after his wonderful talk—the whole audience stood up and applauded him! To see that moment and the joy in his face melted my heart.

3-Reality & Feeling Real
In today's society, between AI and fake content or news, the need to feel that something is still real resonates more than ever. People want real connections, something that brings them together: theatre, live music and photography are all things that are going to be valued more, especially if they become more accessible. Something that caught my eye was what Alex Mahon (ex Channel 4 Chief Executive and now CEO at Superstruct Entertainment) mentioned about festivals (and which is particularly true for Gen Z):

“…we are more connected than ever, yet lonelier than ever…”

Young people are actively choosing formats that pull them furthest from their phones: 94% still use their phone at a festival but only as a tool and 72% say being present now matters more to them than capturing content.

Related to feeling real there’s probably the need to feel valued, feel alive and feel good, and on this, I want to highlight what Mel B (ex Spice Girls) thoughts were on wellness and wellbeing. I really enjoyed her talk on how movement (dancing and Zumba) helped her with mental health struggles and ADHD. She also touched on the theme of violence against women (being herself a victim of abuse) and the importance of movement and sport as a powerful tool for healing. She highlighted the importance of keeping the body active, saying that any kind of physical activity will make someone that little bit happier and feel better.

4-Final Thoughts
Although it was great to see so much talent and hear so many interesting people, there was just way too much to follow and attend. The long walks between venues made it even harder with heavy camera gear. There were issues with the app, cancelled talks, last-minute additions, surprise guests, and those who couldn't show up due to denied Visas. I really wanted to see more live music acts, but it was basically a matter of either doing that or attending the talks and/or the mentoring sessions—tough choices to make.

I also got the feeling that the local community wasn't involved enough. I have friends and colleagues who work right in Brick Lane and had absolutely no idea what SXSW London was all about, which is wild considering it is the second year it has run there.

I tried my best to explain it to them, but it felt like the whole thing did not resonate much with my explanations. I felt the festival was a bit too heavy on tech and AI, less about nurturing creativity in general, and even less so about music. There was definitely a lack of clarity in telling the audience what SXSW London actually is and does.

Although the panels mentioned themes around better democratisation and accessibility to the arts, whether it be in music, theatre, or movie production, considering the cost of those tickets, it was neither accessible nor democratic. However I get that it was a massive production.

In terms of the music scene, I was definitely expecting more (international) acts. The Music meet-ups I attended were chaotic; they felt disorganised and with very little purpose, and I don't think much actual networking happened there. To those artists who did perform live, I think they deserved a better audience outreach and better performing spaces, too.

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I hope you enjoyed my take on SXSW London and if you were at the event this year, did you feel the tech-heavy shift, or did you find the inspiration you were looking for? Let’s talk in the comments below.

SXSW London | Framed Noise #3

SXSW London Unfiltered

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