Off the Chain

By Jack Lemnus

While establishing himself as a young, queer professional, Wesley Smoot, was inspired by the convergence of ideas he witnessed at festivals like South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.

To glimpse the latest innovations in culture and industry was galvanizing, Smoot said. He would always leave entranced by the energy. When he couldn’t afford to go, he’d always find a way to work the event, simply to be among the modern minds of education, technology, and entertainment.

After immersing himself in the world of cultural trailblazers, as a creator himself, Smoot, 39, envisioned a similar event for the LGBTQ community.

He wanted to create a safe place for LGBTQ professionals to meet, network and showcase their work, whether that be their next screenplay or AI software.

That’s when he founded Unleased LGBTQ, an extensive festival catering to LGBTQ professionals to connect and share their freshest projects and ideas.

“Even when this was just a concept, folks would tell me ‘I can’t believe something like this doesn’t already exist,” Smoot said.

Spanning the 92-thousand-square-foot Gilley’s Dallas venue hall in Dallas, Texas, the first in-person Unleashed LGBTQ will take place September 22-24, 2023.

With an assortment of keynote speakers, panels, workshops, performances, networking mixers, cocktail hours and more, people from various industries can walk away with something.

Aside from the many venues at Gilley’s Dallas, eventgoers can also head next door to the Alamo Drafthouse to view screenings of the newest LGBTQ content. Independent producers can even submit their works for the Unleashed LGBTQ 2023 Film Festival on the event’s website.

For celebrity talent, Unleashed has booked rising LGBTQ icons like Antoni Porowski from the Emmy-winning Netflix series, Queer Eye, who is expected to perform a live cooking demonstration. Others include Dyllón Burnside, who’s known for his roles in Pose, Prideland and American

Horror Stories. Also featured is actor and model Indya Moore, who will discuss their experience rising up as a Black, transgender actor in Hollywood.

“We’re going to have all different kinds of conversations,” Smoot said. “We have some great celebrity talent.”

Smoot is particularly excited about comedian and actor Billy Eichner’s attendance, whose works include Billy on the Street and Parks and Recreation.

Various corporate partners have also signed on to Smoot’s mission, like iHeartMedia and Gilead Sciences.

But it’s not just leaders in the entertainment industry who will be making an appearance. Among the dozens of scheduled speakers are LGBTQ advocates and activists, such as former Pennsylvania state representative Brian Sims, and president and CEO of Empowering Differences, Ashley Brundage.

Also on the roster are survivors from the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Patience Murray and Angelica Jones, who’ll share their experience the night of the shooting and their work with the onePULSE Foundation, which is fighting to raise awareness of hate crimes and gun violence and build a memorial for the tragedy.

“I think this event is something the gays kinda need, you know?” Smoot said. “We’re constantly under attack. I feel like we’re always having a conversation about surviving and not thriving, and I think this is a really good platform for us to do that.”

Reflecting on the anti-LGBTQ political climate in states like Texas, Smoot is embracing the chance for the LGBTQ community to come together and celebrate their identity and culture.

“I’ve had people say, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing this in Texas,’ and I say, ‘Well, we need to do this in Texas,’” he said. “We need to do things like this in Florida. We need to do things like this in places where we’re being affected.”

But whether it’s celebrity appearances, expert panels, networking opportunities, or simply the sense of community in troubling times, Smoot is confident there will be something for everyone at Unleashed.

For example, leading thinkers from companies like Meta and Microsoft who specialize in marketing, advertising and AI will present their visions for the future of technology.

“People will have their own reasons for attending,” Smoot said. “We always say Unleashed LGBTQ is creating a space for brands, entertainers and LGBTQ professionals to connect.”

After testing his vision with a virtual three-day event during the COVID-19 pandemic, Smoot and his team were energized to take the project a step further. Despite the rigors of planning a captivating event remotely, their success paved the way for this year’s festival.

“I’m overall floored by what we’ve been able to accomplish in year one,” he said. “I think our partners are satisfied to see how well it’s been received by both the public and the business community.”