Let me just say it first: I loved it. 10 out of 10. I’ll be back every year Imani and her team will have me.
The purpose of a conference or convention, to me, is to give you the opportunity to be in a room with people you would not normally be around on a regular basis. That’s the baseline. How well they execute it, the programming, the people they bring, all of that matters on top of that. But the bigger it gets, the harder it is to network on a grand scale, and also the bigger treasure trove it becomes. Both things are true at once.
The Line, and the Fix
Day one, I got there at 9am and the line was already out of the entire facility. If you’ve been to the Navy Yard, you know the walk from the entrance to the greenhouse is already long on its own. People waited three-plus hours.
Day two, I almost thought nobody showed up because I didn’t see a line until I got to the media/VIP check-in. I asked the person checking me in what they did differently, and he told me straight: they added more security, split it into multiple lines, trying to make it more seamless. This was before Imani even got on stage to address it. That’s why I will forever stand on her and her team, she understood it’s really not that hard to just fix things. She saw the problem and immediately asked, how can I fix this right now.
And when she did get on stage, in front of thousands, and said, I’m sorry about the lines, that was not my intention, here’s what we’re doing to make it right, that’s not just an apology. That’s a class in grace, a class in leadership, a class in ownership. She did what we’re always asking people to do: say I’m not perfect, I messed up, here’s how I’m fixing it.
The way I look at it, these events create an opportunity to put everybody you could ever need into one room, a whole network database in a single space. That’s the main function, especially at this size. I’m not even a huge fan of big events anymore, honestly, I see more real value in small ones where you can touch ten people directly. But what I relearned this weekend is that bigger rooms 10x and 20x the amount of people you can reach. That’s the trade-off.
Network Up, Network Across
The biggest conversation running through the weekend wasn’t about networking up. It was about networking across. I was in awe of Courtney Glaudé on the Maxscene panel, asking the room, raise your hand if you’re a filmmaker, raise your hand if you’re a writer, a director, an actress, a DP, and hands kept going up. He said it plainly: y’all could put together an entire movie in this room alone. That was the clearest way anyone said it all weekend.
Yes, it’s great to be inspired by the people on stage. But you’re supposed to network with the people you actually resonate with, in a space that doesn’t feel like networking because you’re dressed up, you’re vibing, you’re playing chess, you’re shopping Black, you’re getting your hair done. It’s networking disguised as a good time.
I watched someone walk into an activation, put her phone up, take a video, and leave. I thought, but did you enjoy it? Did you even talk to anyone in the room? My thing is: make sure when you attend these events, you don’t just leave with content, you leave with contacts. If you leave with a bunch of content to post online but no contact to actually build a relationship with someone, you may be doing it wrong. Because the value isn’t in the footage. It’s in not knowing who’s standing next to you, and talking to them anyway.
That’s really what I think people get wrong about these events. It’s a huge networking convention dressed up as a good time, and if you go only for the show, only to be seen, only to get featured, you’re doing it wrong. Networking at Culturecon looks like playing a game of chess with someone you don’t know, getting inside the Lincoln-sponsored SVU with someone you don’t know, or just sparking a conversation with the people waiting in line at the food trucks or activations.
The Culture Stage is for aspirational conversation. You might walk away with a great quote, a viral moment, but that was never meant to be the main course. The Braindates are where the real value lives, small, tight, insulated spaces where it’s a real 1-to-10 ratio instead of one person speaking to thousands. One this year was for Black women business owners in New York City, breaking down millions of dollars in funding specifically available to them and how to actually apply. That, to me, is the real value.
Beyond that there’s the smaller panels, the office hours, the workshops, the fireside chats, the career summits, and a career lounge built strictly for networking. I sat in on one session for people trying to break into TV and film, maybe 30 people in the room, with professionals who’d been in the industry five-plus years telling you exactly the dos and don’ts. That’s networking. Nobody’s clipping that for the internet, but that’s the room that actually changes something for you.
Then there’s the marketplace, which might have been my favorite part of the whole weekend. Black-owned businesses and independent artists, their own presentations, their own sales pitches, everything on point. I love being part of that, the version of Black culture that wants to see us elevate, that wants our brands seen as luxury, that circulates real dollars through real Black hands.
Not everything landed for me. Pairing Michael B. Jordan and Gina Prince-Bythewood on the same stage, with her own film coming out in January, felt off. Gina doesn’t miss, in my book she can do no wrong, and I think that conversation ended up centered more on him than on her. I understand the lineup was packed and they were probably trying to make the best of limited stage time. But she deserved her own spotlight, not a shared one.
There’s also a real conversation happening about who this event is actually for, Gen Z or millennials, vibes or strategy. My take is it’s both. Older attendees tend to be intentional, they come with an agenda, specific people to find, specific outcomes they want. Younger attendees are more there for the vibes, the fashion, the energy, the experience itself. Neither is wrong. But if you want the most out of it, you have to come with intention, an agenda, real objectives.
Imani and her team have set this event up for every single person to succeed, whichever way you define that. If fashion is your thing, go connect with every fashionable person you see. If brand deals are your thing, the marketplace is full of companies to become an ambassador or model for. It’s a treasure trove of opportunity. But you have to be intentional about turning it into the most fruitful playground for your own success. They brought us all to the water, did you sink or swim? They put you in a room set up for 100% success. What you do inside that room is on you.
What I’d Change for Next Year
If I’m being honest about where I’d push Imani’s team, it’s less about scrapping anything and more about rearranging what’s already working. The Navy Yard is massive, multiple buildings between check-in and the Culture Stage, and I think a lot of people miss things simply because they don’t know where to find them. Better signage, something bold and color-coded, would go a long way.
I’d also restructure the schedule around Braindates specifically. Right now they’re competing against the main stage, and the main stage usually wins because that’s where the celebrities are. I’d carve out a dedicated block, say 10am to 12pm both days, where Braindates are the only thing running. No competing with Michael B. Jordan for attention. And I’d market them harder and more specifically going in, not just “there will be Braindates,” but actual profiles of who’s hosting each one, their background, what they specialize in, posted ahead of time so people can choose intentionally instead of stumbling into the right room by luck.
None of that is a real complaint. It’s just how I’d sharpen something that’s already working.
This was my second year, and from what I saw years ago to this past weekend, it has only gotten better and better. I love what Imani is building. I believe this event only grows from here.
Please, enjoy it too, not just for content. Get your clips, sure, I was out there working too. But don’t leave a room full of people without talking to anyone real in it. Don’t wait to comment online when you could’ve had the conversation in person. She gave us a playground to network and connect. What you do inside that playground is entirely on you.