My SXSW 2022 Experience:
Conversations That Shift Culture
By Mikita — Thym 4 Tea Podcast
There are some moments as a creator that stay with you long after the lights dim and the crowds move on. SXSW 2022 was one of those moments for me. It wasn’t just the panels, the energy, or even the art — it was the stories. The boldness. The creativity. The people who dared to show up differently and challenge the world as we know it.
And I had the privilege of sitting down with two of them.
🎬 Spilling Tea with Skye Wallin — Director of American Gadfly
When Skye Wallin talks, you can feel his passion for democracy pulsing through every word. As the director of American Gadfly — a documentary released in January 2022 — he follows a group of fearless teenagers who convinced the late Senator Mike Gravel to run for president. Teenagers. Running a presidential campaign. Not as a joke, but as a real vehicle for change.
At SXSW that year, Skye brought that same disruptive energy to the stage in a conversation titled “Guerilla Tactics & Asymmetrical Political Activism” alongside Marianne Williamson and two of the teens from the film.
A gadfly, if you didn’t know, is someone who intentionally disrupts the status quo — someone who asks the uncomfortable questions the world would rather avoid.
And that’s exactly what Skye does.
In our conversation, we talked about:
- What it means to challenge systems that were never designed for young voices.
- Why “too young” is a myth rooted in fear, not reality.
- How activism has shifted in an age where courage is both contagious and necessary.
Watching American Gadfly reminds you that democracy isn’t an abstract idea — it’s personal. And every single one of us, no matter our age, has a role in shaping it.
You can stream American Gadfly on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Vudu, Vimeo, and YouTube Pay. Trust me — it’s worth your time.
🎨 AR, NFT, and Digital Art Magic with Rob McCarty — Co-Founder of Illustrative Space
If Skye’s story lit a fire, Rob McCarty’s blew my mind.
Rob is the CEO and co-founder of Illustrative Space — a company standing at the crossroads of art, tech, and storytelling. What they brought to SXSW 2022 was something completely new:
PoP — Proof of Presence
A blend of AR + Art + NFTs that connects artists and audiences in real time.
In 2021, they stunned the world with the first-ever traveling AR Ghosting experience. But at SXSW 2022? They took it to another level.
Imagine walking through Austin and seeing digital art appear around you — art that interacts with the space you’re standing in, art that proves you were there when that moment was created.
That’s PoP.
Partnering with Mint Gold Dust and the Hope Campaign, Illustrative Space created an immersive storytelling experience that put artists first. Their mission is simple but powerful:
Art should allow artists to show up authentically — on their own terms.
Through PoP, artists get validation and proof of their creative moment. Attendees get a deeper connection to the work. And SXSW became the birthplace of a new kind of digital experience.
If you want to dive into PoP or grab access to their secret SXSW events, visit popsxsw.com or follow Illustrative Space on Twitter.
🌱 Key Takeaways from SXSW 2022
Here’s what those conversations left me with — and what I still carry today:
✨ Creativity lives in all of us. You don’t need permission to create. You just need clarity on what you want to bring into the world.
✨ The world is shifting — make space for yourself. Whether you’re an artist, a storyteller, or a change-maker, you deserve room to show up authentically.
✨ Art is power. It captures moments, emotions, histories — all at once. And artists deserve both freedom and control over how their work is shared with the world.
SXSW was a reminder that creativity is activism. Storytelling is activism. And sometimes, the most powerful change begins with one bold question.