In an era dominated by feeds, frictionless content and infinite scroll, brand strategist, cultural futurist and founder of ICONIC James Kirkham is taking his cult newsletter INKED IN off the screen and into IRL.
Kirkham is launching the first INKED IN & ICONIC LIVE, an evening bringing together people shaping sport, media, music and culture today – not for a litany of PowerPoints, keynotes or panel debates, but for in-depth, rich conversations and connection.
Created by his consultancy ICONIC, the event is designed as part salon, part interview series, part cultural town hall, and takes place on Wednesday April 22nd at 6.30pm the Rio Cinema, Dalston, London.
INKED IN & ICONIC LIVE
INKED IN & ICONIC LIVE marks the next evolution of a body of work and thought leadership from James and ICONIC that has argued for the return to physical spaces and anchoring, from magazine culture to live environments.
Hosted by Kirkham, contributors include Radio 1 DJ Sarah Story; James Brown, founder of Loaded; artist and DJ Camden Cox; Future Cut, the production duo behind global hits for the likes of Lily Allan and FKA Twigs; BBC 5 Live’s Gordon Smart; former NME editor Conor McNicholas; Scott Manson, former editor of Ministry and Loaded; Stefano D’Anna, president of FootballCo; and Rob Scotland, head of brand at sports tech startup VEO.
Topics discussed will range from the shifting power structures in the sports world to what 90s and 00s magazine culture can teach a post-algorithm generation.
Tickets are £5 with all the proceeds going to local food banks in the area.
With just 150 seats, low ticket pricing and the proceeds donated to a charitable cause, the event is deliberately designed to be smaller, more intimate and more meaningful, as a counterpoint to conference culture.
ICONIC has plans to make the event the start of a broader live series exploring how brands, media and communities design spaces that outlast the scroll.
Kirkham said: “I talk and write so much weekly about the need for human connection, the next step was to bring people together.”
“I’m more interested in what forms after the moment – the residue, the conversations at the bar, the ideas that sit with you the next morning. That only really happens in rooms.”