Sanctuary

For the first event of the year, we returned to the beautiful space of grow.inc with a delicious breakfast and morning views over Lisbon. Our speaker, Luis André, took to the stage in front of a large and very attentive audience. He opened his talk with a short film about the worldwide event he founded - Trojan Horse was a Unicorn (THU) - which started life as a gathering of just 100 creators in Troia in 2013. Having previously co-founded the first Portuguese school for the CG industry and witnessed many of his students unable to find work, he wanted to help young creatives get jobs by bringing foreign talent to the area. “I do this because I care,” Luis told us. He sees his task as solving problems and added that “the way you analyse issues shows that you care.”

Luis took us through the steps of building a creative sanctuary at THU. He jokingly referred to creating the THU community as starting a cult. But underneath the joke, Luis has a serious mission. He wants to make the creative industries mainstream. He believes if creativity becomes part of society, we will have less authoritarianism and a better world.

THU is an event with no VIPS, where everybody is equal. Luis started with zero euros in his bank account and the idea of creating something non-corporate, with a deliberately silly name to go with it: ‘Trojan Horse Was a Unicorn!’ The first event was a massive success and THU created a worldwide family. “If you text someone in the world in the tribe, they will open a door for you,” Luis told us.

The following year, tickets sold out in 48 hours! But in 2015, THU had to stop. With a bank account €500,000 in debt, Luis was unable to continue the cost of putting on the event. He cried announcing the news at THU. But the community rallied. An audience member donated a cheque for $10,000 and the trend continued. Lenovo invited him out to LA, asked him what he needed and wrote a cheque for €500,000. “The community saved me because I care,” Luis said.

Luis emphasised that THU’s secret lies in attendees believing in themselves. To buy a ticket, one must have passion and be open to accountability. THU fosters a sense of community through 24/7 interaction over six days and shared experiences based on food and drink. Luis joked that free alcohol is key, as well as hosting the event in a location that is hard to leave! Working with more companies to help creatives become entrepreneurs while maintaining the original vision of THU, Luis is now planning a Storytelling THU event with Sony in Japan, as well as small online career camps, where he wants to bring humanity to the digital experience.

In the closing Q&A, Luis shared that building a community can be difficult in a city as people tend to be selfish and have their own agendas. He emphasized the emotional experience of travelling to THU, where everyone loses their layers to reveal their true selves. Luis has created a standout event focused on facing problems together, rather than just providing a temporary escape from life.

Text by Eleanor McKeown and Alexis Somerville

Photography by Carla Heyworth and Eleanor McKeown