ESSENCE Festival of Culture® Presented by Coca-Cola® Names Teyana Taylor as Chief Curator for 2026 to Shape the Elevation of Excellence Across its Programming

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ESSENCE Festival of Culture^® presented by Coca-Cola^® today announced that Teyana Taylor and her creative team, The Aunties, have been named Chief Curator for the 2026 festival, set for July 3–5 in New Orleans. In this newly created role, Taylor will bring her signature lens rooted in Black culture, feminine power, and intentional creative storytelling to shape the programming experience across the festival’s most celebrated stages and spaces.

An Oscar and GRAMMY-nominated artist, Golden Globe winner, and ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood award recipient, Taylor steps into the Chief Curator role with a vision built on both reverence and reinvention. Drawing from years as a multi-hyphenate artist, creative director, and cultural innovator, she brings the perspective of someone who has lived the ESSENCE experience not just as a performer but as a storyteller deeply connected to its community and cultural impact. Through her company, The Aunties, founded in 2017, Taylor has built a reputation for bold, genre-defying creative work while protecting artists’ vision and elevating their ideas, a philosophy she now brings to shaping the festival’s programming and cultural moments.

Her appointment signals ESSENCE’s continued commitment to deepening its curatorial model, first introduced in 2025, by bringing in voices that reflect the breadth and depth of the communities the festival serves. Taylor and The Aunties join a growing roster of visionary curators helping to define what the 2026 festival will feel, sound, and mean for the hundreds of thousands who attend each.

“ESSENCE has always been more than a festival, it is a reunion,” said Taylor. “It is the place where Black women see themselves reflected at full scale: in their joy, in their genius, and in their magic. I don’t take this role lightly, I’m a true Auntie! The one in your corner, cheering you on, telling you the truth with love, and making sure every room you walk into knows you belong there. That’s what I’m bringing to this programming.”

The Aunties will collaborate directly with the ESSENCE programming, talent, and community teams to curate experiences across the festival. Their work will touch mainstage moments, intimate conversations, community activations, and the connective tissue between them — ensuring that every touchpoint carries both cultural integrity and creative ambition.

The 2026 festival, which recently announced its first wave of Evening Concert Series performers led by Cardi B, Patti LaBelle, Kehlani, Latto, and Brandy & Monica, continues to build a program shaped by women who define their own standards. Taylor’s curatorial presence further deepens that intention.

“Teyana represents the spirit that ESSENCE was built to celebrate and amplify. She carries the lived experience of our community, the creative vision to shape culture, and the genuine love for Black women that has always been at the heart of everything we do,” said Kirk McDonald, CEO of Sundial Media & Technology Group. “This is what it means to steward the festival with purpose. Having Teyana as our Chief Curator for 2026 is a statement about who we are and what we believe programming can be when it is truly created by and for the people it is meant to serve. We are honored to welcome her home.”

Additional programming details, additional curator announcements, and daytime experience reveals will continue in the weeks ahead. Festivalgoers are encouraged to secure accommodations early and plan their full weekend through the E360 app, where personalized itineraries, exclusive offers, and real-time updates bring the complete ESSENCE Festival of Culture^® experience to life.

Tickets for the 2026 ESSENCE Festival of Culture^® presented by Coca-Cola^® Evening Concert Series are on sale now. Follow @ESSENCEFest on X, Facebook, and Instagram to stay connected.

About Sundial Media & Technology Group
Sundial Media & Technology Group (SMTG) is a human connections platform redefining the future of media. With more than 100 years of storytelling expertise and audience insight, SMTG is transforming the traditional media model into a technology-enabled ecosystem designed to foster belonging, drive influence, and scale economic opportunity. Its portfolio includes some of the most iconic purpose-driven brands and experiences in culture today, including ESSENCE (Girls United, ESSENCE Studios, ESSENCE Festival of Culture^®), Refinery29, AFROPUNK, Beautycon™, the Global Black Economic Forum, and the Academy for Advancing Excellence. Through strategic storytelling, data-powered platforms, and products built for cultural impact, SMTG is where connection becomes currency.