AV1 Champions Emerging Talent at Long Summer Lunch 2026

AV1 welcomed clients, partners and industry peers to its 11th annual Long Summer Lunch at the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia on Friday 23 January, marking the start of the year with creativity, connection and a strong focus on emerging talent.

Held for the second year in the MCA’s Foundation Hall, the 2026 event was themed ‘Endless Afternoon’, inspired by analogue, offline summer moments and the idea of slowing down to genuinely connect. Sun-washed tones, tactile styling and film-inspired details transformed the space into a relaxed, golden-hour environment overlooking Sydney Harbour.

A defining feature of this year’s Long Summer Lunch was AV1’s commitment to supporting emerging talent across performance, production and leadership, using the event as a platform to elevate new voices alongside established industry peers.

“Long Summer Lunch is our way of saying thank you for the year that’s been,” said Nigel Mintern, Managing Director of AV1. “But it’s also about creating opportunities, not just on stage, but behind the scenes, for the next generation to step forward.”

“Looking back on 2025, supporting people and causes that matter was a big focus for us. That included supporting charitable organisations such as OzHarvest, R U OK?, WWF, Ronald McDonald House Charities Sydney and Can4Cancer.” Mintern continued.

The afternoon opened with a performance by Little Green (Amy Nelson), who set the tone with a nostalgic rendition of Men at Work’s ‘Down Under’, followed by two original tracks, ‘Mary Poppins’ and ‘Tea Tree’. She was followed by Mina-Siale and her jazz ensemble, blending jazz classics with original compositions, before Forever Grooves took over the terrace with a vinyl DJ set into the late afternoon.

Behind the scenes, the event reflected AV1’s ongoing investment in developing future industry leaders. Long Summer Lunch 2026 was organised by Andrew Crook, AV1’s Marketing & Communications Manager and Chairperson of the ABEA Emerging Leaders Council, while the event’s technical production was led by Connor McEwen, AV1’s Technical Director, who stepped into a full production role for the event. The opportunity allowed McEwen to further develop his understanding of the producer’s role, supported by AV1’s senior team, reinforcing the company’s commitment to growth from within.

Production design played a central role in bringing the theme to life, with large-scale LED screens layered behind sheer draping to create an immersive, softly filtered seascape. Throughout the afternoon, the on-screen content featured a sun moving slowly across the horizon before settling into warm sunset tones, mirroring the pace of the day.

The analogue sensibility extended to the finer details. Film photography captured by Andrew Crook featured on menu placecards, while All Things All Creatures documented the event using a mix of digital cameras and Super 8 film. Kodak Instax cameras encouraged guests to capture moments by hand, and iron-on patches offered a personal takeaway.

Long Summer Lunch 2026 was delivered in collaboration with Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, The Big Group, Valiant Events, All Things All Creatures, Sprintr, and Oneill Photographics.

As a certified B Corp, AV1 continues to embed strong values across its events, partnerships and internal culture, using moments like Long Summer Lunch to create space for connection, creativity and the next generation of talent.

—

All Pics by Oneill Photographics