The Sydney Opera House’s iconic sails will be wrapped in Julia Gutman’s textural work for ‘Lighting of the Sails: Echo’. Watch on as an ancient craft meets modern technology, as Gutman’s fabric-making techniques are transformed into an animated artwork.
The Vivid Sydney 2024 program has been revealed and it’s going to be lit
Vivid Sydney is back to light up dark winter nights. The 23-night Light, Music, Ideas and Food program will run from May 24 – June 15, 2024, and will once again transform Sydney’s city for Australia’s largest event of the year. The 2024 theme is ‘Humanity’. Staged across Sydney, Vivid Sydney festival locations and venues include Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, Barangaroo, Darling Harbour, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, and more. We’ve handpicked the best immersive experiences and interactive artworks not to be missed this year’s Vivid Sydney.
Gumscape with Road and Creatures, Customs House
Known for his iconic work with Mambo, Reg Mombassa turns his creative hand from textiles to Customs House. The large-scale projection will turn a classic Aussie road trip on its head with retro-futuristic robots, one-eyed koalas and other strange creatures presented in this other-worldly journey.
Sea, Sand and Stars, Museum of Contemporary Arts
Chinese-born Australian artist Guan Wei will, for the first time, transform his signature iconography into a light projection. Viewers will be taken on a journey from deep space to the depths of the ocean to a busy day on Bondi Beach, demonstrating how interconnected the macro and mico are in life.
Nest, Barangaroo Reserve
Stand within a transparent circular structure that will display projected Brolgas dancing. The Brolga is the only crane species native to Australia and you’ll bear witness to the ritualistic mating of the bird as they appear to float in the air around you as you stand inside the ‘Nest’.
Connection, Hickson Road Reserve
Step into a canopy of thick with countless LED ropes that will connect individuals and demonstrate our shared humanity. This is an immersive installation that allows viewers to determine how they choose to interact.
Portal, Barangaroo Reserve
Towering over 15 metres tall, this giant installation is an otherworldly display of glowing light that is paired with an atmospheric soundtrack. Viewers are invited to step into the futuristic-looking monolith and re-frame their perspective of the environment around them.
Horizon, Harbour Park
Be prepared for a hypnotic, full-body experience at ‘Horizon’. A trance-like sound and strobing lights will play with your spatial perception and offer a glimpse beyond reality. As you gaze into the giant screen light and sound will sweep over you.
Hika Rakuyo, Cockle Bay
‘Hika Rakuyo’ is a Japanese concept that uses flowers and falling leaves as a metaphor for the transient beauty of life. Vivid’s version is told through an eight-minute holographic light and laser show that displays native Australian flowers blooming across the dark water of the bay.
Global Rainbow, Sydney Tower
Yvette Mattern’s ‘Global Rainbow’ has lit up the skies of London, Berlin, Toronto and Northern Ireland. Now Sydney is getting to experience the beacon of hope and inclusivity that ‘Global’ Rainbow’ as this year’s Vivid. The spectrum of light will be projected from the Sydney Tower Eye and will stretch out for up to 40km across the night sky.
Poem Booth, Hay Street
AI meets poetry. Stand before ‘Poem Booth’ as it creates an AI-generated poem based on what it sees in front of it. You’ll be surprised by its depth, creativity and connection to what it sees.
Stateless, Nawi Cove
Sinclair Park is a light artist who has been working with the medium for more than 20 years. For this year’s Vivid, Park will bring 4,000 solar-powered LED candles to the sandstone blocks of Nawi Cove. Each candle stands for the increasing number of stateless people around the world.