Imagine a world devoid of the influence and input of the Creative Industries.

Now imagine a world where the input of the Creative Industries is only equal to the received economic reward for service. Often that’s nothing. Or a case of beer to a band for performing on a Saturday night.

Join us for the launch of the #CreativityEquals movement. By highlighting what the Creative Industries IS, we will define what the world would look like if 'it' were NOT.

Imagine. No logos. No labels. No branding. No music. No websites. No social media. No architecture, fashion, colour, magazines, books, advertising, software, movies...

During this session, our presenters will:
• paint a picture of their worlds devoid of the influence of the Creative Industries
• lead participants through a Design Thinking workshop to strategise and create an experience demonstrating those 'devoid' worlds
• create an Action Plan and working committee to produce the Lights Out happenings
• realise the contributions ‘creatives’ make to innovation and problem-solving in the workplace and beyond

Join us and be a part of the change.

Ideation, disruption and action start here.

Panellists:

Monica Davidson - Founder, Creative Plus Business

Monica Davidson

Monica Davidson is an award-winning expert on the creative industries, who began her creative life as a freelance journalist and filmmaker before starting a film production company in the early 90s. Her experience highlighted how desperately unprepared creative people can be for a life of entrepreneurship.

Monica decided to use her expertise to help other creative practitioners develop and improve their business skills, and now she works with individual practitioners and larger organisations as a business advisor, strategic consultant and workshop facilitator.

She focuses on goal setting, business and strategic planning, financial literacy and understanding markets. Monica is a regular guest lecturer at institutions including AFTRS, NIDA, NAVA and Ausdance, and she is the author of the Australian version of Freelancing for Dummies. In 2013 Monica was appointed as the first NSW Creative Industries Business Advisor through SmallBizConnect, and the following year she completed her Masters Degree in Screen Business at AFTRS.

In 2015 Monica was named as one of the Westpac 100 Women of Influence for her work in the creative industries. Her award-winning company Creative Plus Business Group recently joined the City of Sydney Creative Spaces project, and in 2017 Monica and the team were proud to join the NSW Department of Industry Business Connect program as creative industries specialists.

Kate Richards - Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Communication Arts, Western Sydney University

Kate Richards

Kate Richards is the Academic Course Advisor for the Master of Creative Industries at Western Sydney University. The degree has served dozens of young, mid- and later career professionals across the creative industries since 2009 (when it started as the Master of Convergent Media). Candidates have come from advertising, marketing, broadcast, journalism, music, visual arts, architecture, design, professional communications, etc. The degree has a systemic focus on design thinking and creative ideation, UX, appropriate technology and innovative research methods. It fosters professional development by targeting industry orientations to strategic communications, innovation, entrepreneurship and new models and methods for leadership, management and teamwork.

Kate is the leader of Western’s Experiential and Immersive Research Lab, which consults externally and internally on media projects. Kate majored in film for her BA Comms. at UTS, she has an MFA with 1stclass honours in electronic art from UNSW CoFA and is undertaking a PhD in audience affect and experience in new media art installations.Working with media since her late teens – when she co-founded the Sydney Super 8 Festival – Kate has applied her versatile skillset and creativity to most media formats, including interactive multi-channel video and CGI installations, software development, XR, databases, video walls and live interactive performance.

Her solo and collaborative electronic art works have shown at ACMI, The Performance Space at Carriageworks, Blake Prize Director’s Cut, Australian Centre for Photography, Video Brasil, ISEA Sydney and Helsinki, Experimenta, AGNSW, Centre for Contemporary Photography Melb. and Sydney Opera House amongst others. Kate has devised multimedia for theatre companies Stalker and Urban Theatre Projects and has produced multimedia projects for a variety of architectural and museum clients including Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority, The Justice and Police Museum, The Museum of Sydney, Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Landini Associates, Otto Cserhalmi Architects

Brian Daly - Founder and Creative Director, The Proverbials

Brian Daly

Brian Daly is an award-winning Creative Director, Composer, Songwriter, Director,Writer, Musician and one-time Red Faces contestant with over 25 years’ experience in the creative industries.After completing his Creative Arts degree at Wollongong Uni, Brian worked as a gigging musician, sound engineer, producer, theatre writer/director and a wandering minstrel at Old Sydney Town before falling unexpectedly into the world of advertising.For 20 years he held leading creative roles in traditional advertising agencies, including 9 years as Group Creative Director at Enigma - the largest regionally-based agency in Australia, before setting up his Creative Consultancy, The Proverbials, in 2015.

He has created, curated and communicated brands for a diverse range of local, national and global clients across a wide range of industry sectors.

His success in producing positive outcomes for his clients has left him in no doubt that creativity is not just some peripheral cultural activity, it is a core driver of economic growth and as such should be embraced at the heart of every business.

Christina Gerakiteys – Founder, Creativity and Innovation Catalyst, UtopiaX

Christina Gerakiteys

Christina Gerakiteys is a creativity and innovation catalyst. Her purpose is to ignite hearts and minds to possibility.

With a strong communication background, she passionately writes and presents business development and innovation programs and workshops. She is also a sought-after facilitator for corporate events and conferences.

Christina is founder of UtopiaX, a creativity and innovation focused business, writes for several publications and speaks regularly on radio about business development, creativity and innovation. She is a contributor to the award winning Front-End Innovation blog.

Her depth of knowledge and engaging style has made her a popular presenter at major conferences including the SingularityU Australia Summit, Vivid Ideas and Creative Innovation.

Christina is an active supporter and advocate for several innovation committees, produces the annual Hunter Innovation Festival, and lectures in Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

A self-confessed lifelong learner, she is a recent graduate of the Executive Program at Singularity University (Cupertino, Silicon Valley) and is currently undertaking doctorate studies in Creativity and Innovation.

Christopher Saunders - Renew Newcastle, General Manager

Christopher Saunders

Christopher Saunders is an enabler and a social change initiator. He was creative producer for fifteen years with Big hART and has been with Renew Newcastle for six years. Renew Newcastle has enabled creative enterprises to flourish and bring life back to a desolate cityscape as well as inform urban development decision-making.

Christopher’s “hands on” collaborative approach has helped deliver some extraordinary benefits for whole communities. These include the restoration of an arthouse cinema in Newcastle; international recognition for the Northcott public housing estate in Sydney; and a national voice for farming families.

Joanna Pretyman, Product Director Tricky Jigsaw (an M&C Saatchi Group company)

Joanna Pretyman

Jo Pretyman is a social impact specialist who believes in the power of creativity to create social and economic change.

With 15 years experience across philanthropy, creative industries and education innovation, Jo works to offer new ways for businesses to integrate their CSR and business strategies, bridging sustainability with commercial outcomes.

Jo is currenlty working as the Product Director at innovation design consultancy, Trcky Jigsaw and is the Founder of NGO I-Manifest, empowering youth with educatiuon and career pathways into the creative industries.

Jo also sits on the Advisory Board of ARROW Collective and is Chair of the Fashion Impact category of the Good Design Australia Awards.