The Building A Brand forum sees a lineup of individuals from a variety of skill sets and endeavors sharing their experience of brand development. For some, the forum will relate to their development of a particular product line or lifestyle brand, for others it is about their journey from creating a niche culture magazine and elevating it to an international media platform. Building A Brand also relates to the experience of the creator becoming a brand unto themselves.

RONNIE FIEG
Sneaker and apparel designer designer, Founder of Kith NYC.

SHAWN STUSSY
Founder of iconic surf/streetwear label Stussy and more recently S.Double.

SIMON ‘WOODY’ WOOD
Founder and Editor-In-Chief of Sneaker Freaker.

PM TENORE
Founder and President of RVCA.

The definition for the Contemporary Art & Design forum is deliberately ambiguous. What we can tell you is that we will provide a group of very talented individuals, each with successful, self-made careers in the field of Contemporary Art and Design and we ask them to share their stories with the CARBON audience. Some will choose to focus on their creative process, others on how they’ve developed a viable career in art and the challenges they’ve faced in doing so. In any event, the presentations will be inspiring and enlightening for all interested in taking their creative practice to the next level.

DABS MYLA
Collaborators in both art and life, this couple began as Melbourne street artists and are now LA-based creatives and internationally applauded.

MARK DREW
Sydney-born, Tokyo-based Graphic Artist. Drew was a Co-founder of China Heights gallery and has exhibited internationally.

BARRY MCGEE
As one of the most prolific and highly applauded contemporary artists alive, McGee’s impact on the art world is incalculable.

GEOFFREY LILLEMON
One of the leaders of the Net Art Movement, Lillemon is a digital artist and director and is an adidas Originals ‘Unite All Originals’ ambassador.

Exploring the modern day media landscape from a variety of viewpoints, CARBON attendees will hear from a range of individuals who have forged successful media profiles and platforms in the ever-changing contemporary media landscape. The forum will start with a flamboyant personality who has acquired a huge presence online, contributing to a string of individual successes. This experience is juxtaposed with that of the enthusiast who has single-handedly built one of the biggest art blogs in the world. We also hear from a fast-rising editor of a men’s fashion website whose popular, satirical writing approach has seen him recruited by one of the biggest online networks in the world.

JEFF HAMADA
Founder and Curator of Booooooom.com, artist and art enthusiast.

EDDIE HUANG
As seen on the series Fresh Off The Boat on Vice.com; Author of the autobiography Fresh Off The Boat and successful restaurateur.

LAWRENCE SCHLOSSMAN
Editor of Four-Pins.com; co-founder of Fuck Yeah Menswear.

ANDREW MONTELL
Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ACCLAIM; Founder of CARBON Festival.

Featuring two individuals best described as pioneers, the Film & Photography forum has a keen focus on the documentation of the world around us. Only a select handful of documentarians can claim to have captured the birth of a culture, but that is certainly something two of our speakers can lay claim to. Having photographed and filmed a defining period in hip-hop and graffiti history in the early days of the movement, Henry Chalfant is well versed in the process of documenting cultural movements via images as they happen. With over 65 years in the industry, Martha Cooper will discuss the highs and lows of a very long and varied career in photography.

HENRY CHALFANT
Co-Producer/Director of Style Wars; Co-author and photographer of Spray Can Art.

MARTHA COOPER
World renowned photojournalist and co-publisher/photographer of iconic graffiti tome, Subway Art.

WILL ROBSON-SCOTT
Photographer and Videographer; burst onto the scene with his work for Crack & Shine, and Crack & Shine International.