The longest-running Vivid Sydney will illuminate Sydney Harbour and other beloved locations for 23 nights, from May 27 to June 18, 2016. This year marks the eighth anniversary of the world’s largest festival of light, music, and ideas. The festival is owned, managed, and produced by Destination NSW, the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency.
Sandra Chipchase, Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer of Vivid Sydney, stated that this year’s Vivid Sydney promises an incredible program where art, creativity, and innovation converge, captivating both local and international visitors. Chipchase emphasized the festival’s global leadership in light artistry through Vivid Light, cutting-edge musical performances through Vivid Music, and creative innovation through Vivid Ideas. Following the record-breaking 1.7 million attendees in 2015, this year’s Vivid Sydney offers visitors an extended opportunity to experience the magic.
In a pioneering move for Vivid Sydney, the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House will serve as a canvas to showcase the diverse works of Australia’s Indigenous artists through the Songlines projection. This extraordinary art piece, directed by Rhoda Roberts, Head of Indigenous Programming at Sydney Opera House and a representative of the Bundjalung Nation of NSW, unites six Indigenous artists. Their creations illuminate the profound connections between Indigenous astronomy and the natural world, depicting celestial and terrestrial Songlines that transcend time, distance, earth, and sky.
Beyond the Opera House, Vivid Sydney’s vibrant lights will return to familiar locations such as Chatswood, Central Park, Darling Harbour, the Australian National Maritime Museum, and Martin Place. Additionally, The Galeries will become the festival’s first indoor precinct. The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Taronga Zoo, both celebrating significant milestones in 2016, will also be illuminated for Vivid Sydney.
In celebration of its 200th anniversary, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney invites visitors on a captivating journey through the Garden of Light. Stunning installations, including the 60-meter Cathedral of Light made from hundreds of thousands of white LEDs, will illuminate the garden with a gentle yet brilliant radiance.
Taronga Zoo, marking its centenary, will showcase larger-than-life multimedia sculptures of ten endangered species. From the majestic Asian elephant to the vibrant Corroboree frog, these installations encourage visitors to Be the Light for the Wild during the zoo’s centennial year and beyond.
Vivid Music will reverberate throughout the city, introducing new sounds and venues. Highlights include the world premiere of Björk Digital, a groundbreaking virtual reality experience from the internationally acclaimed avant-garde artist, and the debut of Curve Ball - a large-scale live music and art event presented by Fuzzy Music. Both events will be hosted at Carriageworks.
Vivid Live at the Sydney Opera House will present an impressive lineup, featuring synth-pop pioneers New Order, indie folk band Bon Iver, jazz virtuoso Esperanza Spalding, and the Australian premiere of Anohni’s multimedia spectacle.
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music presents The Sound Gardens: Vivid New Music, featuring gifted students performing alongside guest artists Natasha Anderson, Anthony Pateras, and Clayton Thomas. Australian hip-hop takes center stage at Come Together @ Luna Park and One Day Sundays at The Factory in Marrickville. ARIA Hall of Fame inductees and influential 80s band, the Models, will join fellow chart-toppers the Machinations and a stripped-down version of Dave Mason’s The Reels for a one-night-only performance of The Models, Machinations & The Reels at the Enmore Theatre.
New additions to the Vivid Music venue lineup for 2016 include Newtown Social Club and the recently opened Cake Wines Cellar Door. They will be joined by returning favorites like Oxford Art Factory, Freda’s, and The Basement.
At Vivid Ideas, the Game Changers Talk Series will feature prominent storytellers who are shaping the creative landscape. The lineup includes acclaimed director and producer Spike Jonze, House of Cards creator Beau Willimon, the creative force behind Orange is the New Black Jenji Kohan, and one of Australia’s most influential emerging creatives, Margaret Zhang.
Throughout Sydney, creative conferences will delve into the realms of innovation and imagination. Noteworthy events include The Sunrise, which explores Australia’s startup culture, the Media Architecture Biennale 2016, examining the transformative potential of technology and digital media in creating vibrant and livable cities, and Conscious Change Makers, a dynamic summit centered around the concept of “good business” benefiting everyone.
Vivid Sydney runs from May 27 to June 18, 2016. Highlights of the Vivid Sydney 2016 program include:
| Where | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Opera House | Songlines unites six indigenous artists whose work reflects the interconnectedness of indigenous astronomy and the natural world, showcasing the celestial and terrestrial songlines that weave through time, distance, earth, and sky. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Royal Botanic Garden Sydney (New) | In celebration of its 200th anniversary, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney will be transformed into a Garden of Light, featuring 3D-mapped projections and large-scale light installations. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Taronga Zoo (New) | Vivid Sydney’s wildest precinct will be illuminated with Be The Light for the Wild to commemorate its centenary and raise awareness about the conservation of endangered species. | Nightly 5:30pm - 9:30pm |
| The Galeries (New) | Perspectives will feature a collective of internationally renowned video artists in an installation spanning the entire complex. | Nightly 5:30pm - 11pm |
| Customs House | Sydney’s Hidden Stories narrates the adventure of Norbert the Nautilus, a blue-tongue lizard who, while traversing the hidden landscapes of Vivid Sydney’s home city, spreads a message of sustainability. The journey of Norbert the Nautilus continues in this undersea fantasy with a rooftop projection, Nautilus and the Sea. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Museum of Contemporary Art Australia (MCA, sandstone original building) | Western Sydney artist Huseyin Sami joins forces with French artistic collective Danny Rose to present The Matter of Painting, a large-scale projection that transforms the MCA into a vibrant canvas, seemingly carved, painted, cut, and brushed. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Circular Quay & the Sydney Harbour Bridge | Dress Circle elevates the interactive lighting of Circular Quay’s buildings, allowing visitors to control the illumination of the city panorama, the Cahill Expressway, and, for the first time, the eastern span of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Harbour Lights returns to illuminate the waterways with brightly lit ferries and boats. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Vivid Light Walk | The Vivid Light Walk, extending from Circular Quay to The Rocks and Walsh Bay, will showcase over 60 installations, including interactive experiences ranging from rocketships to pinball games, an illuminated Love-O-Metre, and giant installations. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Martin Place | Martin Place will once again host Sydney’s most sought-after food and beverage vendors, set against a backdrop of grand, interactive light installations. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Darling Harbour | The Laser-Dragon Water-Theatre will captivate audiences with four video-projected water screens, 56 fountains, 22 flame jets, and 10 high-powered lasers, generating breathtaking formations and effects that include formidable dragons and playful clowns. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Australian National Maritime Museum | The rooftop projection, Nautilus and the Sea, brings characters from the undersea fantasy to life as giant lanterns. | Nightly 6pm - 11pm |
| Central Park | X Factory, projected onto the façade of the heritage-listed Carlton Brewery building, examines technology and the evolving workplace. The popular Silent Disco returns to this energetic precinct, inviting dance enthusiasts every Friday and Saturday evening from 5:30pm. | Nightly 5:30pm - 10:00pm |
| Chatswood | WILDLIGHT - The Bio-kinetic City will take visitors on a journey through time to explore the creatures of Gondwana, utilizing cutting-edge technology to transport them from the Chatswood Interchange to The Concourse. | May 27 - June 13, Nightly 5:30pm - 10:30pm |
| Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House | Vivid LIVE, part of Vivid Music, features performances by Anohni (formerly Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons), indie folk band Bon Iver, synth-rock group New Order, and jazz artist Esperanza Spalding. | May 27 - June 13 |
| Vivid Music | Vivid Music will be hosted at various venues, showcasing a diverse range of musical genres including R+B, house, retro revival rock, electronica, queer beats, eclectic, and hip hop. | May 27 - June 13 |
| Vivid Ideas | Highlights include the Game Changers talk series, featuring Beau Willimon, Spike Jonze, Jenji Kohan, and Margaret Zhang, alongside creative conferences and Vivid Ideas Exchange sessions at the MCA. | May 27 - June 18 |