Mayor Sadiq Khan commits to supporting creative talent in London at SXSW this week

“Welcome to the greatest city in the world!” proclaimed Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Monday, as he opened South by South West festival’s first European edition.

Founded in Austin, Texas, in 1987, as a showcase for the city’s burgeoning music scene, SXSW is now an expansive global platform celebrating the convergence of culture, business, technology and innovation.

This week it landed in East London, taking over dozens of venues, across which 500 sessions with 862 conference speakers, 600 performances from 500 music artists, and 110 film and TV screenings will take place.

Highlights include talks by Zoologist Jane Goodall, Actor and musician Idris Elba and Digital Fashion Week NY Founder Clare Tattersall, performances by Mabel, Tinie Tempah and Tems, and premier screenings of Eminem’s fandom documentary ‘Stans’, Bryce Dallas Howard comedy ‘Deep Cover’ and director Mike Flanagan’s much-anticipated adaptation of Stephen King’s ‘Life of Chuck’, starring Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Mia Sara.

Inaugurating the festival, Mayor Khan praised the decision to choose the capital, telling a packed audience, “There couldn’t be a more perfect partnership than London and South by Southwest.

"Our city is overflowing with energy, with ideas, and with imagination. We’re a creative hotbed, a gateway to the world, and a hub for talent, trade, tech, and innovation.”

SXSW London, which was attended by a number of key global change makers this week launched with a particular focus on creative industries, introducing a new arts and culture programme. As he came off stage, Khan spoke exclusively to Marie Claire about why this sector is so important, and what he’s doing to support its longevity.

Affirming his belief that creativity is intrinsically valuable, the mayor began by saying, “Good culture reflects society, great culture shapes society.”, continuing, “But getting into pounds and pence, the creative industries contribute £63 billion towards our economy. So, it's really important that politicians understand we’ve got to create an environment where they thrive.”

Turning to the pressures on those working in the sector Khan said, “Many are freelancers, so when there’s no work, they’ve got no income. We lost many of them during the pandemic, but we’ve got them back and a pipeline of new people coming through. Whether it’s supporting a gaming festival, the British Film Institute and London Film, or the Design Council, it’s my job to create a vibrant environment in which these industries can flourish.”

Looking to the future, the mayor confirmed a key priority is a more equitable landscape, saying, “It can’t just be one type of person that’s successful in these industries - we should see all sorts of backgrounds. It’s so important to support people who might be talented but haven’t got what I call a helping hand.”, adding, “One of the things that worries me is there are lots of young people who, because they've not got a big brother, big sister, mum, dad, uncle or aunt in the industry, haven't got somebody to open doors for them. That's why we've got to step in.”

Mentoring is key, said Khan, “More than 100,000 young people have been given a mentor. For example, we've got a scheme that supports Black, Asian and minority ethnic filmmakers, and we're working with the gaming industry to particularly support girls.

That doesn’t just open up doors to employment and training, but helps with those soft skills you need - how to dress for an interview, what to say, and when you've been knocked back gives you the confidence to get up again. It's really important to recognise that not everyone's blessed with role models.”

Similarly, not everyone is blessed with the finances to stay in the city, even when working. “One of the things I discovered when I first became mayor was space was very expensive”, said Khan. “Look at the most desirable parts of London - often they became desirable because artists moved in, property prices went up, then the artists were priced out. Of course, we have to make sure there's more genuinely affordable housing, but people also need space to work.”

One initiative devised to tackle this issue is Studio Smithfield, a collaboration between The Mayor of London, Projekt, Paul Smith’s Foundation and British GQ, which along with mentoring, provides young creatives with free studio space for 18 months. Another is the Creative Land Trust, set up with the Arts Council and Outset, to protect artists and studio providers from the pressure of unstable leases and rising rents. “We’re making sure we lock in affordable workspace for artists”, said Khan, “so they’ve got the confidence to know they'll be there for 10, 15, 20 years…”.

Find out more:

Creative Land Trust
Studio Smithfield

SXSW London runs in and around Shoreditch until 7^th June.