In another Covid-related rescheduling of the Printing Industry Creativity Awards (PICAs), the South Australian awards night will go ahead on 16 September and events in Victoria, WA and NSW will combine with the National Print Awards on 29 October.
“Recent flare ups of COVID across the country have led to the further postponement of events in South Australia, Western Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, but organisers say they are now confident that the South Australian event will go ahead on Thursday 16 September at the National Wine Centre of Australia in Adelaide, with a good crowd expected to celebrate their local State winners,” said organiser Visual Connections.
“Similar celebrations in New South Wales and Victoria have had to be postponed due to local outbreaks and consequent gathering restrictions, while the West Australian event fell victim to border restrictions which hampered the movement of the hosts and the events team. All these events will now be held concurrently on Friday 29 October, followed by the National Print Awards presentations.”
In Queensland and South Australia, where the PICA events will already have taken place, the VisCon events team has come up with an 'in-home' experience which will give those who register for the NPA access to the livestream as well as a gourmet hamper with food and drinks delivered to their door.
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| 'Pandemic-inspired creativity': Walter Kuhn, president PVCA |
Walter Kuhn, president of the Print & Visual Communications Association (PVCA) which hosts the event, said the new arrangements were the result of ‘pandemic-inspired creativity’. “Working with the event organisers at Visual Connections, we have now devised a solution which will see all remaining PICA Awards announced on the same evening as the 38th National Print Awards presentation, bringing this year’s printing awards to a conclusion."
Guests at the Sheraton, Melbourne, will enjoy a cocktail function during the PICA presentations, with a short break before the national print awards are announced at a dinner hosted by comedian Dave Thornton.
"Proceedings will be live-streamed to satellite functions in Perth and Sydney, where locals are expected to turn out in good numbers to hear the announcement of winners in their local PICAs, and for the all-too-rare opportunity to catch up with friends and colleagues over drinks, canapés and music," Visual Connections said. Should any of the in-person events be unable to proceed, an in-home experience is lined up 'to complement the virtual celebrations for ticket holders.'
“It’s been a long road to get to this point, and we are very grateful for the patience of our entrants – and the wider industry – as we have worked with the constantly-changing lockdowns, gathering guidelines and travel restrictions around the country to ensure these important celebrations can go ahead,” Kuhn said.
“With industry businesses facing so many challenges over the past 18 months, there has never been a better time to recognise the achievement of excellence, nor to come together with our industry colleagues to celebrate our great industry. We very much hope that print professionals from all States will join us for these fantastic events.
“We’ll continue to monitor the situation across the country closely, but we hope no further changes will be necessary.”
The PICA presentations:
Victoria – Friday 29 October, The Sheraton, Melbourne.
Western Australia - Friday 29 October, Crown, Perth.
New South Wales – Friday 29 October, Woolloomooloo
Go to https://www.trybooking.com/eventlist/pica for latest information and to book for state PICA celebrations.
Tickets are $120/head with a PVCA member rate of $100, accessible with the code published on the booking form.
