white promotional banner for ZartCon26 online event featuring bold white text reading zartcon26 and ONLINE 14-15 SEPT. Below, the words play seriously, creating a dynamic visual effect.

Join us for the 2026 Zart Conference, where we take PLAY seriously, as a joyful, generative force in contemporary artmaking and visual arts education.

Through live workshops and talks with leading Australian artists, you'll explore playful approaches across drawing, painting, sculpture, textiles, installation, digital processes and emerging technologies. Hands-on making will show how play strengthens proficiency, invites experimentation and welcomes unexpected outcomes.

Aligned with the Australian Curriculum, PLAY seriously offers fresh confidence and practical strategies for the classroom, supporting engagement in arts practice, exploration of visual conventions and future-focused learning.

Expect energising sessions, adaptable ideas and a strong reminder of why the arts matter: play helps students think flexibly, create bravely and connect deeply with visual culture.