Artists of all persuasions attended Midnite Cafe last weekend, for the launch of a group hoping to be the voice of Dubbo’s creative producers.

Mr Randell said the group – Creative Assembly – would “simply like a seat at the table when the big cultural decisions are being made”.

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“There are people in government and non-government agencies who are going around doing things but they’re not always including us,” he said.

He pointed to the sound barrier going up along the Mitchell Highway behind Keswick Estate as a lost opportunity.

“It would have only taken a council initiative to ask ‘hey, what would the local creatives do with this wall?’” Mr Randell said.

“It looks to me like a developer has passed that on to the draftsman and he’s said ‘well, we’ll pop some yellow up there, some grey and white.

“It’s better than nothing but it might have been a real thrill for visitors to see something by Bill O’Shea or something by Lewis Burns – or Jack Randell for that matter!”

Dozens flocked to Midnite Cafe last Saturday afternoon for Creative Assembly’s launch, which included a drum cafe and a poem reading by Peter Volkofsky.

Mr Randell, who also spoke at the launch, labelled the event a “great success”.

“It was fantastic,” he said.

“We had a drum-in where we have a drum leader, everyone brings something to bang and we drum it out until we reach a crescendo.

“We had a yard full of people banging drums … it was a lot of fun.”

Fun aside, Mr Randell urged interested artists of any discipline to attend Creative Assembly’s next meeting at the Western Star Hotel on Thursday, August 16 from 7pm.

And he urged the wider community to embrace the artistic expertise available right here in Dubbo.

“Producers are generally working in isolation on their own so it’s almost as if people forget to ask.

“​We’d simply like a seat at the table.”