Newcastle’s annual design festival, Look Hear, is ready to prove once more that the city lives up to its recent award as 2012 World Festival and Event City. 

Since 2009, Look Hear has hosted some of the finest and most reputable art and design practitioners in Australia who have shared their perspectives on industry, technique and process – and this year promises to build on this impressive list.

With workshops, master classes and presentations from a diverse range of artists and designers, and catering to all ages and levels of experience, Look Hear is established as one of Australia’s premier art and design events.

The Look Hear conference, chaired by Fenella Kernabone and held at the Conservatorium on Saturday 27 October, will feature an array of skilled and inspirational movers and shakers from contemporary art and design, giving talks about their work and process, in addition to insightful and informative discussion panels covering topics including contemporary design culture and art in design / design in art.

Conference tickets are on sale until 26 October 2012.

Workshops will be taking place the following day, Sunday 28 Oct. These workshops will be directed by some of the key presenters and teach aspects of typography, illustration and street art. Tickets for these are $85 and run for two hours.

Everyone who buys a ticket to either event will go in the draw to win an Adobe Master Collection (designer software) valued at over $4000, 3 x desktop magazine subscriptions, and all attendees to the conference will receive a LH event pack including a magazine, notebook, pencil and sticker.

The official exhibition of the Look Hear Art & Design Festival, Look See is back at Watt Space gallery from 10 to 28 October. Look See showcases the best of contemporary creativity - from street art to illustration, fine art photography through to graphic design and typography. There is also an animation festival, a portfolio masterclass (where industry professionals give advice to students regarding their design work and entering the workforce), and design talks at the Newcastle Art Gallery.