Australian Exhibitions and Media launches: a portfolio of events for 2027

MELBOURNE, Australia, 15 October 2026. Australian Exhibitions and Media (AEM), the Melbourne exhibition company guided by Kevin Mack, has launched at australianexhibitions.com.au, with Creator Convention (CreatorCon) launching in 2027.

Mack launched his first exhibition in 2014. In the twelve years since, he has delivered more than 50 exhibitions and events, brought over 300,000 visitors through the doors and hosted more than 3,000 exhibitors.

Kevin is the creator and brand visionary who built a national portfolio of events including the Australian Tattoo Expo, the Rites of Passage Tattoo Festival, Sexpo, Babylon Live, the Tech and Gadget Expo, LoveX and CreatorCon. He revived the Rites of Passage Tattoo Festival in 2014, grew the Australian Tattoo Expo into the largest event of its kind in the country, acquired Sexpo in 2019 and rebuilt it with an original stage show, Babylon Live, at its centre.

“I've always found my passion in creating unique experiences, challenging the status quo, and going above and beyond to create smooth, successful experiences for exhibitors and patrons,” Mack said. “That is what sets an event apart from the general marketplace of events.”

“As we herald a new era of technological innovation, the opportunity is ripe to develop modern event experiences that cater to an evolved audience, rather than repackaging and reactivating the same model of events we have seen over the past few decades.”

Through the Covid pandemic, with every event in the country shut down, Mack honoured every exhibitor booth and every ticket sale and paid down the company's creditors, and by 2022 the group was back to full operations with twelve national exhibitions.

Having survived a pandemic that presented extraordinary hurdles for event organisers, Mack was all in on scaling the national events business he had built over the previous decade. He took on an investor for the first time in his career, a decision that would cause a devastating disruption to the company.

In October 2024 the exhibition group he built was wound up by the Supreme Court of Victoria on the application of a minority investor. Mack's own account of those years, and of the decade before them, is published by Eventpress at eventpress.org/kevin-mack/australian-exhibitions.

“Throughout my career, the shows I have developed and activated have been a reflection of my personality, my principles and my creative vision,” Mack said. “As I embrace fatherhood, having spent two years homeschooling my young family and bringing my third child into the world, I have found my passion again. Building brands, a company and a portfolio of events is now driven by what those events can be: family-friendly, inspiring, and able to motivate and unite the future entrepreneurs, creatives and thought leaders of this country.”

“In my experience, walking around the show, shaking your exhibitors' hands and seeing them smiling, overwhelmed at how successful and fulfilling the weekend was, transcends any professional success, financial growth or recognition. This is the gift I want to pass on to my children one day: that they, too, can be fulfilled by the joy of walking around shows they have designed, activated and made a success in the eyes of the exhibitor, the patron and their own team.”

“AEM believes in creating unique events that stand aside from the rest, challenge the status quo, and think exhibitor and attendee experience before profits,” Mack said. “We are a family business, owned and operated through and through.”

“We're excited to be charging forward with our vision for the future of creative and unique events in Australia. We will work relentlessly in the pursuit of building communities, and in not giving up on a lifelong career, no matter the obstacle.”

AEM plans to officially launch CreatorCon 2027 at creatorcon.com.au. Further shows will be announced. AEM is not taking exhibitor bookings for CreatorCon until the final round of sponsorship endorsements closes. Sponsors can connect at sponsor@creatorcon.com.au.