Featuring a variety of tracks that focus on the most important breakthroughs in technology, film, culture, and music, SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together.

From March 11-20, creative industries from around the world will converge in Austin, Texas for SXSW 2022. Get ready to experience more opportunities for networking, learning, brainstorming, and career-enhancing connections than ever before.

Explore Keynotes, Featured Speakers, our many Formats, and this year’s Summits.

Current participation opportunities include SXSW Pitch, Innovation Awards, and Gaming Awards.

Join Us for SXSW 2022

Registration opens in late summer – stay tuned for more information. Subscribe to SXSW Event Updates and the Conference Community Newsletter to stay in the SX know throughout the season.

Discovering the Undiscovered

Cutting-edge innovation and creativity can solve many of today’s toughest problems. It wasn’t that long ago that we lived in a world where we couldn’t have imagined an invention like CRISPR could become real. Now we’re developing vaccines in record time, electric vehicle innovation is on the rise, there’s serious discussion around universal basic income, and the tools and outputs of unrestrained creativity are shaping the human experience.

Built for the Future

People who will be alive in the year 2100 are being born today, and they are set to inherit an uninhabitable planet. Constructing a better world is no longer a moral imperative — it’s a matter of survival, and the hunger for solutions to deep-seated problems is enormous. It’s time to accelerate change and policies must be thoughtfully designed as we look to a future that hangs in the balance.

We’re All Connected

Covid-19 showed us the limitations of protectionist thinking in our interdependent world. Leaders around the globe are grappling with the uncertainties and inequities that have only grown during life in a pandemic. With problems that are bigger than any one country, multilateral cooperation and a long-term commitment to transparency are vital in order to effect real change.

The Evolving Media Landscape

We have arrived at the era of synergistic mergers, the promise of a coming metaverse, and a host of new platforms that empower digital creatives. We’re also firmly entrenched in an era of unprecedented manipulation and misinformation. The recent acceleration of both of these paradigms has been extraordinary, adding more fuel to the fire for calls for increased scrutiny and regulation.

The Power of Inclusivity

Incorporating diverse viewpoints will help lead us to a better society, but achieving this has proved challenging. Tapping into a profound diversity of perspectives and experiences can expose alternative options, help avoid groupthink, and improve the likelihood that we will find new solutions. Harnessing this power is critical.

The SXSW Conference programming spans across 15 tracks of programming broken down by SXSW Badge priority – Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence.

A Platinum Badge grants primary entry to all SXSW events while an Interactive, Film, or Music Badge grants you primary access to the respective Conference tracks and events of your badge type. This also includes secondary access to other tracks and events outside your badge type. All badges have equal access to Keynotes and Convergence tracks. For each track, see the SXSW Badge access designation below.

2022 Conference Tracks

2050 (Interactive)
The new 2050 Track is the home for long-range / big-picture thinking that pushes the limits of what is humanly possible by showcasing how innovative thinking can be a force for positive change in our troubled world.

Topics include: Radical life extension, Quantum physics, synthetic biology, nanotechnology, Artificial Intelligence, next-gen agriculture, human-computer interfaces, and more.

Advertising & Brand Experience (Interactive)
The Advertising & Brand Experience Track examines the ways that companies are activating in unique and compelling ways to connect with changing consumer priorities.

Topics include: Cutting-edge marketing, corporate activism, neuroscience, employee engagement, the creator economy, content creation, and best practices for encouraging in-house innovation.

Civic Engagement (Convergence)
Formerly known as Government & Politics, the Civic Engagement Track brings together some of the world’s most forward-thinking voices at the local, national, and international levels to discuss programs and policy directions that can help bridge our current divisions.

Topics include: Smart cities, income inequality, election integrity, law enforcement, gun control, governmental ethics, municipal services, subsidies, and programs that promote DEI.

Climate Change (Convergence)
The urgency of action around the climate crisis cannot be overstated. This programming covers the many consequences of soaring temperatures, rising oceans and mass extinctions across the globe.

Topics include: Renewable energy and fossil fuel alternatives, sustainable practices, coastal relocation, plant-based foods, and forward-focused green startups.

Culture (Convergence)
The Culture Track explores the different traditions, norms, and expectations that help us gain a better understanding of one another while maintaining a sense of stability.

Topics include: Food, sports, how we work, fashion, art, literature, museums, theatre, and relationships.

Design (Interactive)
This long-standing track, which has served as the foundation for almost all SXSW Conference programming, encompasses everything related to interface, interaction, and purposeful intent.

Topics include: Architecture, Equity & Inclusion, and Design Futures.

Film & TV Industry (Film)
The Film & TV Industry Track dives into the current and future state of film and television.

Topics include: Distribution, financing, representation, technological advancements, and more.

Future of Music (Music)
The Future of Music Track forecasts how new hardware, software and virtual technologies will continue to redefine the way we create, deliver, experience and engage with the sounds of tomorrow.

Topics include: Streaming, artist rights, artist payments, music marketing, touring, game industry integration, and new audio-centric technologies.

Game Industry (Convergence)
Gaming’s immersive storytelling and socially-driven digital experiences have become the dominant entertainment medium of the 21st century. This programming delves into how the industry has incorporated more traditional forms of content across a variety of platforms, and where this increased reach and influence will lead the entertainment industry in years to come.

Topics include: Advertising, inclusivity, esports, the metaverse, and innovations in both narrative-driven and socially-driven experiences.

Health & MedTech (Interactive)
An area of focus that has seen huge growth at SXSW in recent years, the Health & MedTech Track centers on how social and technological changes are impacting one of the world’s largest industries.

Topics include: Equity, patient rights, shareability of data, CRISPR, telemedicine, mental health, CBD and psychedelics, 3D printed body parts, brain implants, and other new tech-driven innovations.

Making Film & Episodics (Film)
Explore the creative process behind film and episodic content with an emphasis on the collaborative nature of the medium

Topics include: Screenwriting, virtual production, post-production, cinematography, new technologies, and more. This track will also house conversations with visionaries looking at their creative process and careers.

Media Industry (Convergence)
The Media Industry Track examines the trends driving change in the media landscape and the power of the companies who control the message.

Topics include: the business of streaming, audio and the creator economy, mergers and acquisitions, social platforms, monopolies, freedom of speech, and the future of news reporting.

Startups (Convergence)
SXSW remains one of the world’s top destinations for entrepreneurs from all different industries. The Startup Track covers the new founders, new ideas, and new revenue models that are powering today’s most exciting new companies.

Topics include: New products, new markets, new ideas, new business models, new approaches to funding, new strategies for inclusiveness, and new entrepreneurial hotspots.

Tech Industry (Interactive)
The Tech Industry Track highlights the new innovations that will drive the world’s next wave of change, balancing these breakthroughs against a world that has grown more skeptical about the benefits of the digital revolution.

Topics include: AI/ML, blockchain, cryptocurrency, security and privacy, XR, social media platforms, enterprise solutions, hardware, software, chip manufacturing, wearables, robots, IOT, edge computing, data ethics, voice technology innovation, and accessibility.

Transportation (Interactive)
The Transportation Track acknowledges how technology is radically transforming various transit systems across the globe. This new programming for 2022 reflects how much more tech-driven activity, innovation, and deal-flow we are now seeing in this industry.

Topics include: Last mile mobility, the hyperloop, autonomous vehicles, EVs, electric bicycles, personal air vehicles, delivery, drones, and commercial space travel.