The inaugural Connect Conference 2026, hosted by Visual Connections Australia, will run alongside the Visual Impact Expo in Sydney in September. The event will be purpose-designed to help connect industry leaders with the information and insights they need to innovate and prosper in today’s challenging business environment.

Karren Challoner-Miles

Karren Challoner-Miles, CEO of Visual Connections, says planning is well underway for the conference, which will run each morning of the show in Hall 2A at the Sydney Showground, adjacent to The Dome where the Visual Impact Expo is to be staged.

Aimed at business owners, senior management and key decision-makers, the conference content aims to inform, inspire, upskill and challenge the status quo, Karren explains.

“Connect Conference 2026 will be an integral part of the industry’s leading event for the ANZ market in 2026,” Karren says. 

“More than just another purely industry-focused event, Connect Conference 2026 will be a high-level business summit which will help equip industry leaders to develop the innovative solutions needed to respond to today’s challenging business environment.

“Our research over the past couple of years has identified a demand from senior leaders for a conference which delivers more than just reflections on our own sector.

“They are asking for economic, strategic and practical content which will help them understand local and global trends, address issues both within our own industry and across business more broadly, and maintain profitability in an increasingly challenging environment.

“We are responding to that demand with a curated program that is purpose-designed for business leaders, featuring information, insights and innovative solutions from international and local experts and thought leaders across a range of industries.”

Julia O'Keefe

Each day of the conference will have a particular theme – Better Business; Navigating Sustainability; and Future Ready.

This will give delegates the flexibility to choose single-day registrations for topics that they find particularly relevant, or to take advantage of the full, three-day program, while still leaving plenty of time to explore the Visual Impact Expo and to network with suppliers, customers and other industry colleagues.

“The program is taking shape nicely under the guidance of our Conference Programmer, Julia O’Keefe, and we look forward to sharing more information on speakers and topics in the coming weeks,” Karren says.

If you would like to make a suggestion or express interest in presenting, please contact Julia on (02) 9868 1577 or juliao@visualconnections.org.au 

Connect Conference 2026 will run alongside the Visual Impact Expo at the Sydney Showground, Sydney Olympic Park, from 2-4 September 2026. Both events are hosted and organised by Visual Connections. For more information go to visualimpact.org.au