Debut Music Series @ Joe's Pub
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Details
Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
9:30PM – 11:30PM
Address
Joe’s Pub and The Library at The Public Theater
425 Lafayette St, New York, NY 10003
RSVP & PREMIER TICKET REQUIRED.
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Speakers & Moderators
Founder & Creative Director, neuplot
EVP, ECD – Razorfish (Publicis)
Diversity Media Strategy & Investment, General Motors
Mike Tresvant
TBD
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
DEBUT is Blackweek’s culture festival and showcase, dedicated to spotlighting what’s new and next in music. This year, DEBUT Music will feature a special performance by musical artist Amber Mark, offering our Premier and VIP registrants an unforgettable experience that reflects the future of culture through sound and artistry.
Punk, Advertising, and an Unfinished Story with Michaela De Prince
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Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
11:00AM – 11:45AM
Stage
Salon stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
Founder & Creative Director, neuplot
EVP, ECD – Razorfish (Publicis)
Diversity Media Strategy & Investment, General Motors
Mike Tresvant
TBD
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
A.F. Cortés began his career as a Creative Director and has since evolved into a photographer and filmmaker, moving between advertising, underground music, and film. Alongside brand work, he has documented punk scenes, directed music videos, and developed documentaries and TV series — always chasing stories that cut deeper than the campaign. In conversation with Black Week co-founder Adan Romero, EVP/ECD at Razorfish and Cannes Lion–winning creative leader, Cortés reflects on how those worlds collide in an unfinished collaboration with ballerina Michaela De Prince. Created in quiet moments between takes, the photographs reveal not just Michaela’s artistry and humanity, but the power of going “beyond the brief” into work that lives in tension — between commerce and art, chaos and grace, the seen and unseen.
AI: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
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Date
Wed, Oct 8
Time
2:30PM – 3:15PM
Stage
Breakthrough stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
The new era of AI is upon us! It is important to understand what’s Good – all the new things that we will be able to do — productivity for businesses, innovation and facilitation for easier use by consumers. The Bad could displace people and be problematic if not well regulated. The Ugly could be a scenario of computers taking over the world and humans no longer in charge. This pivotal AI trifecta of the Good, Bad and the Ugly, will demonstrate the consequential knowledge required to lead, make better decisions and gain a winning edge
Reading the Cultural Tea Leaves
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Details
Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
4:15PM – 5:00PM
Stage
Premier stage
Address
Spring Studios
50 Varick St,
New York, NY 10013
Speakers & Moderators
Charlene Polite Corley
Imani Greene
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
As brands lean more heavily on AI, automation, and data-driven targeting, the stakes for cultural intelligence have never been higher. Standard datasets and biased algorithms often miss the nuances that shape how diverse communities live, consume, and connect. This panel will explore the growing need for culturally optimized insights that reflect real people—not stereotypes—and ensure that marketing, media, and technology speak to all audiences authentically. Panelists will discuss how to root out bias in large language models, build inclusive datasets, and design systems that capture the idiosyncrasies that define culture. Because if the data isn’t inclusive, neither is the future.
Despierto
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Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
6:00PM – 6:30PM
Director & Host
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
In Mexico City, Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez explore their connection as a passage to different dimensions.
Opening up the infinite possibilities of dream states through the lens of real couples, director Ariel Danziger captures Mexican actors Juan Daniel García Treviño and Sasha Gonzalez in a parallel world for short film Despierto. An intimate portrait, told from a different dimension, Despierto journeys deep into Dani and Sasha’s relationship as they marvel at the dreams accessed through their connection, contemplating the profound forces that bring them together in the present.
“Despierto explores the existence of different dimensions and delves into Dani and Sasha’s bond. The process was one for the books. We gathered all our friends, bought some 16mm film, practically borrowed a home, and flew to Mexico City. Two weeks later, we had it shot.”
Shooting on 16mm film at a borrowed home in Mexico City, Danziger developed an intricate visual narrative around Dani and Sasha’s private realm – casting a dreamlike filter over the world they share. Continuing the themes explored in 2020’s Somewhere, Despierto imagines the impenetrable bubble of romance as a passage to new realities, and how these imagined worlds materialize around us.
Invisible Beauty
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Date
Tue, Oct 8
Time
7:00PM – 9:00PM
Director & Host
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
Coming soon.
Where I Became
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Date
Tue, Oct 8
Time
5:00PM – 7:00PM
Director & Host
TBD
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
Coming soon.
Gaps
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Details
Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
7:00PM – 7:30PM
Director & Host
Jenn Shaw
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
Coming soon.
Letter to Rosie
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Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
6:00PM – 6:30PM
Director & Host
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
LETTER TO ROSIE captures an intimate portrait about survival, self worth, self love, and overcoming all of life’s obstacles. Matt’s tormented past sexual and physical abusive life finds its way into this visually depiction. Matt’s last letter he wrote to his deceased mother. Narrated by MATT SANCHEZ. Who at the young age now of 21 has lived through more pain and suffering than most young men. But this story isn’t about MATT The VICTIM it’s about MATT the survivor. Our story is told to help heal others. To inspire, to trigger something within.
The Making of a Matriarch
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Date
Tue, Oct 7
Time
5:30PM – 6:00PM
Director & Host
Bethann Hardison
Fashion Industry Icon
This “love letter to grandma” is voiced by a third-generation Dominican-American filmmaker as she uncovers her family heritage by examining the life of her grandmother who immigrated to the U.S in the 1960s.