Artistic event sure to inspire

CREATIVES from central Victoria and beyond will converge on Bendigo’s arts precinct this September for a new two-day event.

Presented by the Emporium Creative Hub, Conflux Bendigo is a “business event crossed with a festival” designed for artists, performers and creators to come together, share their work and develop ideas.

Manager of Emporium, David Hughes, said the event has been designed to help creatives further their practice.

“They can come along and be part of discussions around getting large scale commission work or a creative vision for regional Victoria,” he said. “They can be part of workshops, or they can come and be inspired by some of the performances we’ve got going on.”

The theme of Conflux this year is Brave New World, and Mr Hughes said the aim is to explore how technological innovations work alongside creativity.

“It comes about from looking back at the last couple of years and how we’ve been through COVID and looking at what the future holds, and how we look to integrate technology,” he said.

“[It’s] looking at our response in terms of interactive performance and just exploring all of those topics and what they mean for creatives.”

Speakers from all over Victoria, as well as Sydney and Adelaide, include the minds behind CreateA Arts Company, Arena Theatre Company, Oak Magazine, Hebron Films, Nacho Station and more.

They will be joined by the likes of visual artist Baby Guerrilla, digital innovator Nick Dunstone and writers Jenny Valentish and Ben Eltham.

Live music will be performed by Jae Laffer, Louisa Terra, Geoffrey Williams, and Mick Trembath.

“We’re keen to strike that balance that showcases what’s happening in regional Victoria but also brings in people from other areas that are doing fantastic stuff that serves to further inspire the work that’s already happening here,” Mr Hughes said.

Conflux Bendigo takes place on 9 and 10 September. For the full program and tickets head to emporiumcreativehub.com.au/conflux.