COMPLEXCON TO RETURN TO LONG BEACH IN NOVEMBER

complexcon
by Stephen Garner Jul 19, 2018

complexconComplexCon, the world’s largest gathering of visionary pop culture enthusiasts, returns for its third annual event on November 3-4, 2018, in Long Beach, California for a weekend of exclusive sneaker drops, musical performances, bleeding edge streetwear, and fashion, and the return of ComplexCon(versations) bringing together icons, influencers and celebrity speakers.

Pharrell Williams and Takashi Murakami return as host committee chairs again this year. Additional host committee members, panel discussions, performance line-ups, programming and activations will be announced in the coming weeks. A limited supply of pre-sale tickets for the festival are on sale Friday, July 20 at 3 pm Eastern/12pm Pacific at ComplexCon.com.

The two-day festival mixes concert performances, retail pop-up shops, in-depth panels and conversations, art, food, brand activations, interactive technology and much more into a one-of-a-kind experience that brings together creators and audiences to celebrate culture, spark creativity, and forge new collaborations.

This year, ComplexCon is focusing on the enlightenment and empowerment of the individual, reflecting the issues and conversations that permeate and influence culture today from entertainment to art to politics. ComplexCon unveiled a new logo, which incorporates Murakami’s modern interpretation of the ensō, an ancient zen symbol that represents the cycle of all creativity and life, from chaos to growth to enlightenment.

“There is a cycle to everything – art, culture, design, life – it’s always moving from present to future. ComplexCon has this cycle, where so many ideas are swirling, the atmosphere is charged with potential and from that energy, amazing ideas, new interpretations, and collaborations are formed and the cycle continues,” said Takashi Murakami. “There is chaos in the world right now but also an incredible movement of young people rising up to create something better and from that energy new ideas and movements are forming ripples through everything in culture. It was important to embrace this at ComplexCon this year.”

This third annual festival and exhibition will feature even more panels and speakers as part of the popular ComplexCon(versations) track in which today’s most significant cultural figures tackle the most important topics of our times. Also new for this year, the Pigeons & Planes Stage is moving into the larger arena space so fans can be fully immersed in the musical experience. The ComplexCon footprint is also expanding this year as we take over the Rainbow Lagoon next to the Long Beach Convention Center for an elevated food court hosted by First We Feast.

Launched in 2016 by Complex Networks and ReedPOP, the two-day event has become a must-attend for fans, brands and cultural icons. Last year over 50,000 fans, 200 leading cultural figures converged for the two-day festival including performances from N*E*R*D*, Gucci Mane, M.I.A., Young Thug, DJ Khaled, SuperDuperKyle, A$AP Ferg, Jaden Smith, Virgil Abloh, iamOTHER: #BeGreat Party ft. Kap G X Bia X WatchtheDuck, Ski Mask The Slump God; exclusive retails experience from Puma, Colette, Billionaire Boys Club, Human Made, Union Los Angeles, Modernica, Off-White, Nike, Undefeated, Concepts, RSVP Gallery, New Balance, Pintrill, Adidas and Clot; and cultural icons Andre 3000, Cam’ron, Chelsea Handler, Lavar Ball, Don C, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Jerry Lorenzo, Rick Ross, Roy Choi, Wale and more leaders.