SXSW Interactive Announces Opening Keynote

She may not be a household name, but Paola Antonelli credentials are bordering on perfect. She’s a guru of design and the interaction between people and things. If that isn’t a good fit for SXSW Interactive then we’re just not sure if anyone is good enough.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City acquired Antonelli in 1994 and she has been acquiring amazing and innovative works for the museum ever since as its senior curator in the Department of Architecture & Design.

And that’s just the beginning. Antonelli is a senior fellow at the Royal College of Art in London, has degrees from all over the world including a few honorary degrees, has a pair of awards from the Smithsonian, and sits in the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. She’s a frequent author and was rated by Art Review as one of the hundred most powerful people in the art world.

She’s done her share of TED talks and has eloquently defended her acquisition of video games into the museum’s collection (including local designer Adam Saltsman’s Canabalt). All in all, we’re pretty certain she can start blowing minds on day one of SXSW Interactive 2015.

Follow Antonelli on Twitter for a steady stream of awesome things to look at.