- Expansion into Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Taronga Zoo
- Over 80 light installations and projections
- Bjork, New Order and Bon Iver for Vivid Music
- Spike Jonze, Jenji Kohan, Beau Willimon for Vivid Ideas
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| Source: Vivid Sydney, Destination NSW. Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) - The Matter of Painting – artist impression by Huseyin Sami and Danny Rose. |
The longest ever Vivid Sydney will shine for 23 nights when it illuminates Sydney Harbour, new and much-loved precincts, and hosts vibrant music performances and big ideas talks, from 27 May to 18 June 2016. Now in its eighth year, the event is the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas and is owned, managed and produced by the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW.
Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer and Executive Producer, Vivid Sydney, Sandra Chipchase said, "This year Vivid Sydney is back with an incredible programme where art, creativity and innovation meet, and are celebrated by local and international visitors.
"Vivid Sydney delivers the world's leading light artists in Vivid Light, cutting-edge musicians in Vivid Music, and creative innovators in Vivid Ideas. In 2015 the festival attracted a record 1.7 million attendees, and this year visitors to Vivid Sydney will have longer to experience the wonder of Vivid Sydney, and enjoy our biggest year yet."
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| Source: Vivid Sydney, Destination NSW. Songlines – render impression by Artists in Motion inspired by Artist Karla Dickens. |
In a Vivid Sydney first, the sails of the world-heritage listed Sydney Opera House will celebrate the rich and diverse work of Australia's indigenous artists through the projection Songlines. This exceptional work of art is directed by Sydney Opera House Head of Indigenous Programming, Rhoda Roberts of the Bundjalung Nation of NSW, and brings together six indigenous artists whose work illustrates the extraordinary connections between indigenous astronomy and the natural world - the celestial and terrestrial Songlines that weave through time and distance, earth and sky.
Vivid Sydney's brilliant light also returns to Chatswood, Central Park, Darling Harbour and the Australian National Maritime Museum, Martin Place and new precinct The Galeries, which becomes the festival's first indoor precinct. Traditional attractions the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and Taronga Zoo will light up during Vivid Sydney in celebration of the monumental anniversaries both celebrate in 2016.
At Garden of Light, visitors will take a glittering journey through the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney as part of its 200th birthday celebrations. Grand installations will dazzle including the 60m Cathedral of Light, made from hundreds of thousands of white LEDs which radiate gentle but brilliant light from all angles.
Taronga Zoo will be illuminated by larger-than-life multimedia sculptures of ten critical species, ranging from the magnificent Asian elephant to the vividly coloured Corroboree frog, encouraging visitors to Be the Light for the Wild in Taronga Zoo's centenary year and beyond.
Vivid Music will pulse through the city with new sounds and venues with highlights including the world premiere of Bjork Digital, a new virtual reality project from the international avant-garde artist and the inaugural Curve Ball - a large-scale live music and art event from Fuzzy Music, both held at Carriageworks.
Vivid Live at the Sydney Opera House will unleash a series of incredible acts including synth-pop legends New Order, indie folk band Bon Iver, jazz artist Esperenza Spalding and the Australian premiere of Anohni's multimedia show.
The Sydney Conservatorium of Music will present The Sound Gardens: Vivid New Music performed by talented students with guest artists Natasha Anderson, Anthony Pateras and Clayton Thomas. Aussie hip-hop will be celebrated at Come Together @ Luna Park and One Day Sundays at The Factory in Marrickville. ARIA Hall of Fame inductees and 80s trailblazers the Models will join fellow chart-toppers the Machinations and a stripped down version of Dave Mason's The Reels to present The Models, Machinations & The Reels for one night only at the Enmore Theatre.
Vivid Music venues joining the lineup in 2016 include Newtown Social Club, brand new venue Cake Wines Cellar Door and returning favourites including Oxford Art Factory, Freda's and The Basement.
At Vivid Ideas, the Game Changers Talk Series will be headlined by storytellers shaping the creative landscape including 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 new creatives, Margaret Zhang.
Across the city, creative conferences will dive into the business of innovation and imagination with highlights including The Sunrise which delves into Australia's start-up culture, an exploration of how technology and digital media can shape exciting, liveable cities at the Media Architecture Biennale 2016 and Conscious Change Makers, a dynamic summit exploring the idea that 'good business' is good for everyone.
Interested?
Vivid Sydney runs from 27 May to 18 June 2016.
Vivid Sydney 2016 programme highlights include:
Where
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What
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When
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Sydney Opera House
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Songlines brings
together six indigenous artists whose work illustrates the connections between indigenous astronomy and the natural world - the
celestial and terrestrial songlines that weave through time and
distance, earth and sky.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Royal Botanic Garden Sydney (New)
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Celebrating its 200th birthday, the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney will transform into a Garden of Light with 3D-mapped projections and large light installations.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Taronga Zoo (New)
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Vivid Sydney's wildest precinct will light up with Be The Light for the Wild to celebrate its centenary, and raise awareness of special animal species the Zoo is committed to protecting.
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Nightly 5:30pm - 9:30pm
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The Galeries (New)
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Perspectives will
bring together prominent video artists in the world in an installation spread throughout the complex.
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Nightly 5:30pm - 11pm
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Customs House
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Sydney's Hidden Stories tells
the story of an adventurous blue-tongue lizard that spreads a message
of sustainability as he explores incredible landscapes concealed around
Vivid Sydney's home city.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Museum of Contemporary
Art Australia (MCA, sandstone original building) |
Western Sydney Artist Huseyin Sami and French artistic collective Danny Rose collaborate to present The Matter of Painting,
a grand projection which transforms the MCA into a huge, vibrant canvas
that appears to be carved, painted, cut and brushed.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Circular Quay & the Sydney Harbour Bridge
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Dress Circle takes
the interactive lighting of Circular Quay's buildings to a new level with visitors able to control the lighting of the city
panorama, the Cahill Expressway and for the first time ever, the eastern
side of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Harbour Lights will return to light up the waterways with illuminated ferries and boats.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Vivid Light Walk
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The Vivid Light Walk,
which stretches around Circular Quay to The Rocks and Walsh Bay, boasts
over 60 installations including interactive experiences from
rocketships to pinball games, an illuminated Love-O-Metre and giant
installations.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Martin Place
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Martin Place will again be
home to Sydney's most popular food and beverage purveyors, alongside
grand, interactive light installations.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Darling Harbour
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The Laser-Dragon Water-Theatre will
wow visitors with four video-projected water-screens, 56 fountains, 22
flame jets and 10 powerful lasers, creating awe-inspiring forms and
affects including ferocious dragons and laughing clowns.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Australian National Maritime Museum
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The journey of Norbert the
Nautilus continues with a projection on the rooftop named the Nautilus
and the Sea. Characters from the film come to life as giant lanterns in
this undersea fantasy.
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Nightly 6pm - 11pm
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Central Park
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X Factory will
explore technology and the changing human workplace through a projection
on the façade of the heritage-listed Carlton Brewery building. The free
Silent Disco will return to this exciting precinct, available to
dance-loving visitors every Friday and Saturday evening from 5.30pm.
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Nightly 5:30pm - 10:00pm
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Chatswood
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WILDLIGHT - The Bio-kinetic City,
will explore the creatures of Gondwana through a high-tech
journey from the Chatswood Interchange to The Concourse.
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27 May - 13 June, Nightly 5:30pm - 10:30pm
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Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House
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Part of Vivid Music, Vivid
LIVE features Anohni (formerly Antony Hegarty of
Antony and the Johnsons), indie folk band Bon Iver, synth-rock
band New Order and jazz artist Esperanza Spalding.
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27 May - 13 June
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Vivid Music
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Vivid Music
at venues offering an array of musical genres from R+B to
house, retro revival rock, electronica, queer beats, eclectic and hip
hop.
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27 May - 13 June
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Vivid Ideas
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The Game Changers talk
series with Beau Willimon, Spike Jonze, Jenji Kohan and Margaret Zhang,
creative conferences plus the Vivid Ideas Exchange sessions at the MCA.
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27 May - 18 June
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