UNE Creative Industries Consultation

Have Your Say on Creative Industries offerings in Tamworth with The University of New England

Arts North West is working with the University of New England to explore options for developing a Creative Industries offering at UNE’s new Tamworth campus—and we want the region’s creative community to help shape it.

This is a significant opportunity for the New England North West. A locally designed and delivered Creative Industries offering could strengthen education and career pathways, retain talented people in the region, address industry skills gaps and support the long-term growth of our creative economy.

To ensure any future offering responds to the realities of working and creating in regional communities, Arts North West is inviting the local community to complete the Creative Industries survey. We need you to share your experiences, priorities and ideas.

We welcome contributions from:

• emerging and established artists
• creative practitioners and businesses
• gallery and museum professionals
• arts and cultural organisations
• musicians, performers, writers and filmmakers
• designers, makers and digital creatives
• First Nations artists and cultural practitioners
• teachers, trainers and education providers
• current and prospective students
• councils, community organisations and industry representatives
• anyone interested in the future of creative education and employment in the region

You do not need to be currently working in the creative industries to participate. We also want to hear from people who would consider studying, changing careers or developing new creative skills if suitable opportunities were available locally.

Your feedback will help the University of New England understand regional skills gaps, education and training needs, preferred delivery options, potential career pathways and opportunities for practical industry partnerships. This is an important opportunity to help shape a locally relevant educational offering that supports people to build sustainable creative careers close to home and reflects the region’s creative strengths.

The survey will explore:

• what is currently missing from the region’s creative industries
• the skills and knowledge people need to develop sustainable creative careers
• the education and training opportunities needed by regional creatives
• how the offering could be structured and delivered
• the importance of flexible, accessible and regionally relevant study options
• potential employment and career pathways for graduates
• how UNE could draw on the experience of existing artists, organisations and creative businesses
• opportunities for industry partnerships, placements and practical learning
• how a Creative Industries course could support communities across the wider New England North West

Your contribution will help UNE better understand the region’s strengths, challenges and opportunities. It will also help identify how a future course could complement and support the creative work already taking place across our communities.

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Complete the survey:

https://form.jotform.com/262738351836061

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Community Consultation – Friday 23 October 2026

If you would prefer to speak with us face to face to discuss your insights and preferences, please join Lauren and Sam on Friday 23 October 2026 at UNE Peel House

BOOK NOW: https://events.humanitix.com/have-your-say-une-creative-industries-regional-consultation

When?

📅 Friday, 23 October 2026

⏰ 12.00pm–1.00pm

📅 Friday, 23 October 2026

⏰ 5.30pm–6.30pm

Where?

Consultation session at UNE Peel House

📍 Campbell Howard upstairs main room at Tamworth UNE, Peel House Building - Level 2, 24 Fitzroy Street, Tamworth NSW 2340

BOOKING LINK: https://events.humanitix.com/have-your-say-une-creative-industries-regional-consultation

Free refreshments will be made available, and you can register your interest here:

Come along, have your say and help us make the most of this important opportunity for creative education, employment and enterprise across the New England North West.

Together, we can help shape a course that reflects the region’s talent, responds to industry needs and gives more people the opportunity to build creative careers close to home.

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Why this matters

The New England North West is home to a diverse and growing creative sector that includes visual artists, performers, writers, musicians, designers, filmmakers, makers, cultural workers, museums, galleries, festivals, creative businesses and First Nations cultural practitioners. Despite this strength, distance and limited access to specialised education can make it difficult for people to develop their skills, enter the sector or build sustainable creative careers without leaving the region.

A Creative Industries offering delivered in Tamworth could create new pathways into employment and enterprise while strengthening connections between education, industry and community. It could also support innovation, cultural tourism, regional storytelling and the development of future creative leaders.

For this opportunity to achieve the best possible outcomes, the offering must be informed by the people who understand the region and its creative industries.

Come along, have your say and help us make the most of this important opportunity for creative education, employment and enterprise across the New England North West.

Together, we can help shape a course that reflects the region’s talent, responds to industry needs and gives more people the opportunity to build creative careers close to home.

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Consultation Facilitators –

Lauren Mackley – Executive Director Arts North West

Lauren Mackley is the Executive Director of Arts North West and an experienced arts leader, facilitator, artist and community engagement practitioner with extensive knowledge of the New England North West creative sector.

Lauren holds a Bachelor of Contemporary Visual Art and Education (Secondary) and is currently undertaking postgraduate study in museums and collections at Deakin University. She has also completed training in the Art of Hosting, a participatory approach to facilitating meaningful conversations, collaborative learning and collective decision-making.

Her professional experience spans arts administration, cultural development, education, local government, strategic planning and regional creative-sector development. Lauren has facilitated community and stakeholder consultations for Gunnedah Shire Council, Tamworth Regional Council and Arts North West, helping organisations translate community knowledge, lived experience and regional priorities into meaningful strategies and practical actions.

Her local government work included consultation and relationship-building with First Nations communities and was recognised through the Leo Kelly OAM Arts and Culture Award.

Lauren will facilitate the Creative Industries offering consultation between the University of New England and the regional creative sector. She will guide discussions, encourage open and equitable participation, and ensure the experiences and priorities of artists, arts workers, organisations, educators and community members are clearly captured.

Sam Holmans Thompson – Associate Lecturer UNE

Sam is an Associate Lecturer at the University of New England. She has been tasked with the development of a new Creative Industries offering. Sam holds a master’s degree in film, is currently studying for her PhD, and lectures in Digital Content Creation and Writing for Stage and Screen. Her research interests include ontology of the image, film as cultural artefact and the social practice contexts of our engagement with the moving image, particularly the contrast between institutional and cultural settings.

Sam came to academia after a long career working in media and creative industries marketing and film production. Sam has worked for renowned global media companies including Emap, National Geographic Television and Film, and Discovery Networks Europe. Her production credits span a variety of shorts, feature films and scripted drama series, including Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories for Sky Arts (2016), alongside producing a range of social media broadcasts, narrative and performance music videos for bands signed to independent labels under the Beggars Group record company.

Sam will be supporting Lauren to facilitate the consultation; synthesising knowledge gained from the community to inform the University of New England’s new Creative Industries offering for the Tamworth campus.