Keynotes

Daily Keynotes present diverse, visionary speakers who deliver the most powerful new ideas in the ever-evolving worlds of technology, film, culture, and music.


Priyanka Chopra Jonas - Photo By Miguel Esparza

Priyanka Chopra Jonas - Photo By Miguel Esparza

About Keynotes

 

At the center of the SXSW Conference, Keynotes drive the shared daily dialogue that connects the many industry professionals in attendance from around the globe.

These presentations run for one hour each, showcasing some of the world's most inspired thinkers as they tackle the most timely topics of today and tomorrow. All SXSW Badges have equal access to all Keynote sessions.

See You in 2024

Get ready to experience more opportunities for discovery, networking, learning, and career-enhancing connections than ever before at SXSW 2024 from March 8-16. Stay tuned for announcements coming later this summer.

Subscribe to Event Updates and the Conference Community Newsletter to stay in the SX know.

2023 Keynotes

 

José Andrés

Named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in both 2012 and 2018, and awarded the 2015 National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, Chef José Andrés is an internationally-recognized humanitarian, culinary innovator, and educator. In 2010, Andrés founded World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that provides fresh meals in response to crises across the globe.

Ryan Gellert

Ryan Gellert is chief executive officer (CEO) of Patagonia Works and Patagonia, Inc. Prior to his appointment to this global role, Ryan spent six years as Patagonia’s general manager of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Before joining Patagonia, he spent 15 years at Black Diamond Equipment.

Ryan, and avid climber and backcountry snowboarder, holds a JD from the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah; an MBA from the Florida Institute of Technology; and a BSBA in finance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is a multi-faceted talent, and one of the most recognized personalities in the world.

Chopra Jonas is the recipient of numerous awards as an actor and producer, with more than sixty international and Hollywood films to her credit, and in February 2021 became a New York Times best-selling author with her memoir Unfinished. She’ll next be seen in Citadel (Spring 2023), in which she stars alongside Richard Madden, a series by the Russo Brothers for Prime Video. Following that, she stars in Love Again (releasing May 12, 2023) with Sam Heughan and Celine Dion. Most recently Chopra Jonas starred in Netflix’s Academy Award Nominated feature The White Tiger, which she also executive produced. Chopra Jonas is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on the Executive Committee of the Actors Branch. She is also a member of the Producers Guild of America.

Chopra Jonas is a global UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and recipient of the prestigious Danny Kaye Humanitarian award. She is also a Global Citizen ambassador, and is involved in a number of efforts to protect children’s rights and to promote the education of girls around the world. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Nick, their daughter, and Diana, Gino, and Panda, their three dogs.

New Order

Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, and Gillian Gilbert of New Order in conversation with The Times rock & pop critic Will Hodgkinson — From the ashes of legendary band Joy Division, New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of all time. Their debut Movement (1981) was overshadowed by the sound of Joy Division; going forward the band combined post-punk with influences from New York’s club scene, the result was Power, Corruption & Lies (1983). 1983 also saw the release of Blue Monday which became the best-selling 12-inch single of all time, selling over 3 million copies worldwide. New Order then released the albums Low-Life (1985), Brotherhood (1986), Substance (1987) and Technique (1989). Between several brief hiatuses and line-up alterations, Republic (1993), Get Ready (2001) and Waiting for the Sirens’ Call (2005) came out, before Peter Hook’s departure in 2007. The band released their critically acclaimed tenth studio album Music Complete in 2015 featuring guest vocals from Iggy Pop, Brandon Flowers and Elly Jackson of La Roux. Never resting on their legacy, New Order continue to perform live around the world, playing some of the biggest shows of their career to date, headlining Manchester’s Heaton Park and London’s O2 in 2021 and a US arena tour with Pet Shop Boys in Autumn 2022.

Margo Price

Moving from the sparse folk of her 2016 debut, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, into the rollicking roots of All American Made the following year, and into classic rock with 2020’s That’s How Rumors Get Started, Margo Price has established herself as a sonic explorer of the finest ilk. Louder, lusher and more layered, Strays dives deeper into rock and roll, psychedelic country, rhythm & blues, and even bright shiny pop, traversing new sounds and influences more confidently than ever before. Produced by Jonathan Wilson (Angel Olsen, Dawes, Father John Misty), with special appearances from Lucius, Mike Campbell and Sharon Van Etten, Margo Price and her longtime band recorded Strays during a blissful week in California’s Topanga Canyon. “It was the best studio experience I'd ever had in my life,” she says. “I feel more mature in the way that I write now. I’m on more than just a search for large crowds and accolades. I’m trying to find what my soul needs.”

Tilda Swinton

Tilda Swinton started making films with the director Derek Jarman in 1985 with Caravaggio.

Swinton's second film was Peter Wollen’s Friendship’s Death. She and Jarman made seven more films together, including The Last of England, The Garden, War Requiem, Edward II (for which she won the Best Actress award at the 1991 Venice International Film Festival) and Wittgenstein, before Jarman’s death in 1994. She gained wider international recognition in 1992 with her portrayal of Orlando, based on the novel by Virginia Woolf under the direction of Sally Potter.

She has established rewarding ongoing filmmaking relationships with Jim Jarmusch - including Only Lovers Left Alive and The Dead Don’t Die, Joel and Ethan Coen, Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love, A Bigger Splash, Suspiria), Joanna Hogg (The Souvenir Parts 1 and 2,) and Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer and Okja).

Swinton also worked with the Hungarian master Béla Tarr (The Man from London), and has featured in the critically acclaimed comedy Trainwreck by Amy Schumer directed by Judd Apatow. In 2020, she made The Human Voice with Pedro Almodóvar.

She received both the BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress of 2008 for Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton. In 2020, she was the recipient of both a BFI Fellowship and a Leon d’Oro at the Venice Film Festival for her lifetime’s work. In 2022, she received the AMPAS Visionary award along with Julia Roberts, Sir Steve McQueen, and Miky Lee.

In 2021, Swinton shot George Miller's Three Thousand Years of Longing in Australia opposite Idris Elba, reunited with Wes Anderson for the fifth time for Asteroid City and Joanna Hogg for a third time on The Eternal Daughter. She recently shot with Julio Torres on Problemista with A24 and David Fincher on The Killer for Netflix.

Swinton is the mother of twins and lives in the Highlands of Scotland.

Unfold The Universe: NASA’s Webb Space Telescope

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), released its first full-color images and spectroscopic data on July 12, 2022. As the largest and most complex observatory ever launched into space, Webb went through a six-month period of preparation before it began science operations with 50 major deployments, careful alignment of the mirrors, and calibrating the instruments. In this session, join NASA Goddard Communications Team Lead for the James Webb Space Telescope Laura Betz, Astrophysicist and James Webb Space Telescope Deputy Project Scientist for Exoplanet Science Dr. Knicole Colón, Planetary Scientist and James Webb Space Telescope Deputy Project Scientist for Planetary Science Dr. Stefanie Milam and Astrophysicist and Deputy Project Scientist for James Webb Space Telescope Science Communications Dr. Amber Straughn as they review Webb’s latest scientific discoveries, discuss how this observatory will continue to explore the uncharted territories of our cosmos, and share a never-before-seen image from the James Webb Space Telescope.

Explore the SXSW Conference

Olivia Wilde

2019 Film Keynote

"I realized if I wanted things to change, if I wanted to make my voice heard, I was going to have to shift the paradigm from within."

Watch Now
Olivia Wilde Film Keynote - Photo by Danny Matson

Ta-Nehisi Coates

2018 Keynote

"Ask me about something I haven’t read on or reported on, I’m not gonna say much about it. When you go into a punch your feet have got to be set."

Watch Now
SXSW Keynote Ta-Nehisi Coates speaks onstage - SXSW 2018. Photo by Ismael Quintanilla/Getty Images for SXSW

Barack Obama

2016 Keynote

"It’s not enough to focus on the cool, next big thing. It’s harnessing the cool, next big thing to help people in this country."

Watch Now
2016 Keynote Barack Obama - Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for SXSW

Esther Perel

2018 Interactive Keynote

"It’s the quality of our relationships that determines the quality of our lives – but it’s equally so that the quality of relationships at work determines the actually quality of our work and our overall ability to succeed."

Watch Now
Esther Perel speaks onstage as SXSW 2018 Interactive Keynote. Photo by Amy E. Price/Getty Images for SXSW

Learn More

See You Next Year!

Take a look back at 2023 and get ready for the next SXSW Conference & Festivals in Austin from March 8-16, 2024.

Learn More

Dive Into SXSW News

Browse the latest announcements, programming features, and important dates.

Read On

Conference Sponsors

White Claw logo
Porsche logo
Itau logo
C4 logo
Slack logo
Austin Chronicle logo

Stay Tuned

Sign up to receive the latest announcements, tips, networking invitations and more.