Building on the success of the Conscious program, Conscious NXT was a new music industry academy for young people aged 15 to 18 piloted in 2025 which returned for the second edition in 2026. Conscious NXT brought together an experienced team of artists and industry facilitators to inspire and nurture the next generation of Hip Hop, Rap, and R&B artists, songwriters, producers, and music industry professionals in the Macarthur region.

The program kicked off with a free Music Industry Sampler event at Campbelltown Arts Centre on 25 May, and schools booked in-school sampler sessions, 26–28 May. During these action packed sessions young people engaged with a range of hands-on challenges, offering a glimpse into the diverse career pathways within the music industry. 

We also had 15 young people from the Macarthur region selected to be part of the Conscious NXT Academy - a creative, 10-session intensive program, that ran from 24 June - 10 August 2026. Participants were split into two groups who each released a song, with accompanying artwork. They gained behind-the-scenes insight - received mentorship and opportunities in songwriting, production, performance, marketing and business skills, paving the way for post-school pathways in the music industry.

The Conscious NXT 2026 Academy Cohort were split into two groups, ‘The Collective Reality’ featuring; AJM, Autumn Lee, Lily Jen, Mario, Mia, PJ and Rabbik, as well as ‘84heARTz’ featuring; Aliana, Chayce (CØMC), Dredge, Flanders, Jasmine, Levi, Moni and Ollie.

Find out more about the groups, artists and listen to the tracks they created as part of the program via the links below.