--- title: "Meet the New SXSW Programming Leader: Greg Rosenbaum on AI, Humanity, and the Festival's Future" date: 2026-03-10 source: Meio & Mensagem source_url: https://www.meioemensagem.com.br/sxsw/quem-e-e-o-que-pensa-o-novo-lider-de-programacao-do-sxsw tags: [sxsw-2026, leadership, interview, greg-rosenbaum, ai, programming] summary: Greg Rosenbaum, SXSW's new VP of Programming, discusses the festival's transformation, the central theme of "humanity in the AI era," and Brazil's record-breaking presence. --- # Meet the New SXSW Programming Leader: Greg Rosenbaum on AI, Humanity, and the Festival's Future The opening remarks of South by Southwest 2026 will be hosted by a different face. **Greg Rosenbaum**, Vice President of Programming for the festival, will take the stage Thursday, March 12, to present the event's new configuration. Without the Austin Convention Center (ACC), SXSW will be more decentralized and briefer in duration. ## From SXSW Edu to Main Programming Rosenbaum assumed leadership of SXSW programming when the company's CEO and Chief Programming Officer, **Hugh Forrest, was dismissed in April 2025**. Before taking on the role, the executive spent the last 15 years shaping the festival's educational arm, SXSW Edu. With a background in music and economics, he joined the Edu organization as coordinator in 2010. Asked about the transition, he guarantees he was a student of SXSW, since his function was to replicate the main event's model for the education industry. > "Transitioning to this broader focus and role felt natural, since we've always been learning from each other within the organization. It's exciting to see there are many excellent teams leading each of the individual events. Part of the magic is discovering the common threads among all these things and how we can help amplify that going forward." ## SXSW 2026 Innovations The executive arrives at the programming's top chair in an edition that promises logistical challenges. Beyond the Austin Convention Center renovation, it's the first time Innovation, Music, Film & TV, and Comedy festivals happen simultaneously. Additionally, the festival period, which varied from nine to ten days, was shortened to one week. Finally, the event celebrates 40 years of Music, though its origin dates to 1987 — Music is the festival that gave birth to SXSW. The organization also debuts **clubhouses**, socialization spaces for each festival throughout the city, and **reservations**, a new way to guarantee space at shows, premieres, and panels. Still, Rosenbaum sees adversities as opportunities to redesign the public's experience with focus on encouraging exchanges among participants from each track. ## The Creative Village Theme **On the central thematic umbrella:** > "We've adopted this notion of 'Creative Village' for the event experience as a central theme. For much of the programming, especially regarding Innovation, we went from 23 tracks last year to 12. This was to help leverage and focus — not to discard thematic areas, but to focus on areas our core audiences are truly interested in." > "A recurring theme for us across all parts of the festival has been this idea of **'humanity in the AI era.'** We have many different touchpoints; this is a reflection of where we are as a community in general. SXSW has always been about the near future." > "Discovering, during this AI revolution, where the creative industry fits, how this is a renaissance, and building human connection around it is priority. We're also looking at what fandom and following mean at this moment and how this impacts consumer behavior." ## Creative Destruction with Amy Webb **On the theme of creative destruction:** > "The intersection of where we are in the world now and where we are with creativity is definitely a place of overlap and intersection. The Venn diagram meets right there. I love that Amy Webb and others are addressing this head-on and sharing their perspectives." > "Being a home or a place where these meaningful conversations can happen about creative disruption is something we want to have at SXSW." ## Brazil's Record-Breaking Presence **On the Brazilian delegation:** > "Brazil has been one of the top participating countries at SXSW for a very, very long time. Even though registrations are open until the end of the event and we're still in motion, we're seeing Brazil continue to surpass all other participating countries by a large margin." > "It's exciting to have **more than 40 Brazilian speakers** in the programming. We'll have films from Brazilian filmmakers, exhibitions with Brazilian artists. We'll have the governor of Rio Grande do Sul state in the programming as well. São Paulo House is returning, as well as Casa Minas. There's a huge presence from Brazil at the event and we're very grateful to have this again this year." > "The growth is potentially **surpassing all other countries by 200%**. We're still in the phase where a lot of international participation is arriving." ## 40 Years of SXSW Music **On the anniversary celebration:** > "We've been using our social channels before the event to help tell that story. We're featuring many of the 'firsts' that have been at SXSW over the last 40 years. It's been a fun and meaningful trip down memory lane for each of these audiences to think where careers were launched, where artists were discovered, and where ideas were felt — even in recent years, with some of the startups coming out of our pitch program." ## The Festival's Future **On criticism that SXSW has become too corporate:** > "People can say all kinds of things about how they see and live their experience. Having been here for the last 15 years, I can say this is a **community-driven event**. We are a reflection of where the community is going. 40 years of pioneering and discovery are proof of that." > "We had the first sessions about agentic AI in 2014. We've been at these moments at crucial times. It's hard to define what's next when it's happening in the present. We do our best to reflect what's happening in the community and we're focused on discoveries, on the near future, on what trends are coming and what will be impactful." **Looking forward:** > "We're as excited about our next 40 years as we are about our last 40. This marks a major redesign for the festival, in part because we don't have the Convention Center. This is allowing us to experiment with many different things. We're people who learn from experience and community and continue to rebuild and redesign." > "The hunger for in-person experiences, for gathering, for human connection around what's happening in the near future is very strong. We see a bright future for SXSW on all fronts." ## Key Takeaways - **New leadership, same community focus** — Rosenbaum brings 15 years of SXSW Edu experience to main programming - **Unified festival** — All four festivals (Innovation, Music, Film & TV, Comedy) happen simultaneously for the first time - **Humanity in the AI era** — Central theme across all programming tracks - **Brazil dominates international presence** — 200% growth, 40+ speakers, record delegation - **Creative Village concept** — 12 focused tracks (down from 23) for deeper engagement - **40 years of Music** — Celebrating SXSW's founding festival with special activations Rosenbaum's vision positions SXSW 2026 as less about technological fascination and more about discovering how creativity, humanity, and AI can coexist in meaningful ways.