Our contributor, Sarah Pfeiffer only has a few days of her Australian adventure left before she heads home to South Carolina. We’re going to miss her terribly, so we were stoked to see this article about her experiences at Sydney’s Light, Music & Ideas Festival – Vivid, turn up in our inbox this morning.
Vivid Sydney: Light, Music & Ideas Festival
27 May 2016 – 18 June 2016
“Vivid Sydney is a 23-day festival of light, music and ideas. Vivid Sydney features many of the world’s most important creative industry forums, a mesmerising free public exhibition of outdoor lighting sculptures and installations and a cutting-edge contemporary music program. Vivid Sydney is where art, technology and commerce intersect.”
Never have I ever been to a festival quite like this one before. I have been to many Christmas Tree lighting festivals on late December Fridays in America, but none to this capacity without having an underlying theme of the holidays. I was sincerely amazed by the tremendous lengths the city of Sydney went to in order to put on a truly unique winter festival. The amount of city-wide involvement was such a pleasure to see, with light, music, and idea outlets displayed on every corner of the city. The festival truly covered the entirety of the city, not just The Rocks and Circular Quay. Lights could be seen on boats cruising the harbour, on numerous buildings throughout the city, inside several art galleries, in Chatswood, Central Park, The Royal Botanical Gardens, Walsh Bay, Darling Harbour, and stretching all the way to Martin Place. This festival is in its 8th year of operation, with each year getting better than the last. Vivid adds new aspects of entertainment every year, but the festival is best known for the lighting displayed on the Sydney Opera House. Even though every aspect, event, light display, concert, and speaker is listed on the Vivid Sydney website, based on my experience battling transportation, crowds, and the cold, I have put together an ideal itinerary that allows for the best experience in the least amount of time. Yes, there will be children running ramped, and people everywhere, but the no matter the masses, this festival will wow you. It will make you wonder how in the world this city was able to put it all together. It will intrigue you. It will make you appreciate both technology and art. It will make you want to sit along the water with a loved one and simply watch as the Opera House change scenes time after time.
Before handing you an event-packed itinerary, I wanted to share a few suggestions or words of wisdom with you.
- If you don’t like crowds, Friday and Saturday night may not be the best days for you to attend. Try Sunday!
- Slim parts of sidewalk such as the area running from the Circular Quay Train Station up to the Sydney Opera House should be avoided at all costs. With tables outside of restaurants shortening the width of the sidewalks, and the lack of traffic control, you may experience some frustration due to your inability to move against the sea of people. When I was standing entirely too close to a couple eating their dinner and wedged between two complete strangers, all I could think of was my desire to have Moses by my side. With a friend like that, he could have been there to part the people like the Red Sea, and all could be well, but instead I moved where the masses would allow, and eventually with patience, made it out alive.
- Wear closed-toed shoes. Though you will also be doing a lot of walking, I actually mention this as a defence mechanism. I am preparing you for the sheer amount of strollers who will roll right over your toes without a care in the world. People with children were surprisingly more aggressive in large crowds. Who would have thought?!
- Prepare your camera settings for low-light shooting. You will thank me later. You don’t want to end up with an endless amount of blurry photos on your Nikon, trust me.
Along the route provided, you will be able to see all of the following light exhibitions: I Love You, Harbour Lights, Attune, Infinity Box, Will o’ the Wisps, X Factory (Museum of Contemporary Art), Flurry, U-Tube, Silent Island, Sound Cells, Sweep, Lighting The Sails “Songlines”, Sydney’s Hidden Stories, Cathedral of Light, Mondrian Cube, The Matter of Painting, Electric Garden, and Under Foot
Your practical itinerary is as follows:
4:00PM: Arrive by train to Circular Quay Station, and walk over to the Opera Bar for a cold beer and appetizer. Not only is it a good place to grab a drink and fuel up before your night of exploring, it is also a place to bid cruise voyagers adieu, and witness a marvellous sunset behind the Harbour Bridge.
5:30PM: Start walking to the entrance of the Royal Botanical Gardens. The majority of the iconic lights are located inside along the Vivid Light Walk. Exhibits in The Garden do no turn on until 6:00PM but some are lit beforehand. The Garden is where the majority of lights are located, so don’t miss out on all the fun! Also displayed in the Royal Botanical Garden is my personal favourite exhibition, the Cathedral of Light. I called it the Caterpillar of Light, and you will understand why when you see it for yourself.
6:15PM: Find yourself a bench in view of the wondrous Opera House, and make sure to watch the light sequence all the way through. This year, the Opera House was transformed into an, “animated canvas of Australian indigenous art featuring iconic contemporary works from Karla Dickens, Djon Mundine, Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi, Reko Rennie, Donny Woolagoodja, and the late Gulumbu Yunupingu,” and what a spectacular job they did!
6:45PM: Make your way over to the Museum of Contemporary Art on the other side of Circular Quay. Along the way, take note of the many light fixtures displayed, including Sydney’s Hidden Stories which is displayed on the Customs House behind the train station, as well as the charming I Love You Exhibition. The gallery is open to the public during festival hours for the pleasure of late-night gallery viewings though there are no specific light displays inside. The sandstone portion of the Museum of Contemporary Art is lit up with the X Factory exhibition, and inside you can go up to the 6th floor to experience the Vivid Lounge. Upstairs you can enjoy happy hour, yet another spectacular view of the Harbour, an outdoor balcony, free hors d’oeuvres, and a DJ for dancing and easy listening.
7:45PM: In the words of Kanye West, “I want you to see all of the lights,” and in order to do so, you will have to keep that adventurous spirit high and your walking feet moving. The next destination is the foot of the Harbour Bridge. On your way to the beginning of Walsh Bay, you will see many other light fixtures, pass many restaurants, bars, and food trucks. It is here where you should stop of some late dinner, see a live Pirate Ship set sail, and enjoy the end of the tour of Vivid!
Coming to Australia, I was told to be open to new experiences and adventures. I am happy to say that Vivid Festival was just that. Australians refer to it as a once in a lifetime experience, but for me, it truly was once in a lifetime. With only twenty days left in this beautiful country, I am so grateful to have been able to witness a night of community, lights, music, and happiness. Vivid was surprising, spectacular, brilliant, and enlightening.
xoxo
– sp
