FREE PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON YORTA YORTA COUNTRY: TUESDAY 30 SEPTEMBER.⁠
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NETS Victoria’s Chair Bec Cole and Director Claire Watson are excited to be joining other arts industry experts in the presentation of two free professional development sessions at Shepparton Art Museum. ⁠Don’t miss your chance to attend and participate in these important conversations. ⁠

Building Cultural Safety in Creative Workplaces
Presenters: Veronica Pardo, Bec Cole, Claire Watson
Date: Tuesday 30 September 2025, 12–2pm
Venue: Shepparton Art Museum

Today’s arts and cultural leaders are managing vastly different workforces than in the past, that better reflect the vibrant and diverse communities they are surrounded by. But do our approaches to leadership keep up with the challenges of managing and nurturing diverse teams?

In this session Veronica Pardo will provide an introduction to some of the principles and practices that can address this critical gap to build safer organisational cultures in which all people can thrive. Veronica’s presentation will be followed by a discussion with Bec Cole (palawa) and Claire Watson from NETS Victoria, the peak body for visual art, craft and design touring, and the State’s only full-service visual arts touring organisation. Bec and Claire will share practical insights and learnings from their own journey of building cultural safety in a small arts organisation, and how they have created transformative outcomes with minimal resources.

Register here.

This session is an outcome of Greater Shepparton City Council’s Creative City Strategy, produced by TOPSOIL and supported by Riverlinks and Shepparton Art Museum.

More Than Just Art on Walls: Public Art Galleries
Host: Mimi Leung (visual artist)
Panellists: Danny Lacy (SAM Artistic Director, PGAV Chair), Claire Watson (NETS Victoria Director), Eric Nash (Benalla Art Gallery Director), Bec Cole (NETS Victoria Board of Management)
Date: Tuesday 30 September 6–8pm
Venue: Shepparton Art Museum

Victoria is home to 60+ galleries across the state, including our very own Shepparton Art Museum. More than just art on walls, public galleries a platform for thousands of artists as small-business people, and they are the workplace for hundreds of skilled creative workers.

Local visual artists and creative workers are invited to join us for this panel discussion hosted by Shepparton-based visual artist Mimi Leung along with curators Danny Lacy and Eric Nash and senior leadership from NETS Victoria Claire Watson and Bec Cole. It will be a great opportunity to understand more about the role that public galleries play in our communities and to find out how to access opportunities for professional development, presentation of work and employment in these spaces.

This session is an outcome of Greater Shepparton City Council’s Creative City Strategy, produced by TOPSOIL and supported by Riverlinks and Shepparton Art Museum.
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Register here.
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Image Description: ⁠
A turquoise background with text that reads ‘Building Cultural Safety in Creative Spaces. Presented by TOPSOIL & Greater Shepparton City Council’⁠