Lights turned on for 2016 Vivid Sydney spectacle

The lights for the 2016 Vivid Sydney were turned on for the first time in 2016 on Friday night, illuminating the harbour city in bright colours from more than 90 light installations.

Projecting colourful art on the world-famous Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House and throughout the city, the centrepiece of the opening was a powerful cultural statement from Indigenous Australia.

Over the 23 nights of the festival, the sails of the Sydney Opera House will be illuminated by Songlines, a 15 minute-long looped light artwork created by a group of Indigenous Australian artists and musicians.

Running until 18th June 2016, mre than 150 artists from 23 countries have created the light installations and projections that appear in more than eight Vivid Sydney precincts spread across Sydney.

Vivid Sydney also features 195 Vivid Music events and more than 500 speakers appearing at Vivid Idea talks and forums.

Launching Vivid 2016, the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, NSW Premier Mike Baird stated “tonight thousands of people have visited Sydney to witness the amazing Vivid ‘lights-on’ moment.

“For the next 23 nights, Sydney’s most iconic landmarks will be lit up in a symphony of colour and movement, attracting visitors from across the world. Vivid is a creative festival for a global audience and its popularity is evident in the 1.7 million visitors who attended last year’s festival.”

The spectacular Songlines projection showcases the work of six renowned Indigenous artists: Karla Dickens, Djon Mundine, Reko Rennie, Gabriella Possum Nungurrayi, Donny Woolagoodja and the late Gulumbu Yunipingu.

Co-curated by Destination NSW and the Sydney Opera House, Songlines speaks directly to the spirituality and culture of Australia’s First Peoples, depicting the interconnected sharing systems and the trade routes that weave through time and distance, earth and sky.

With other major 3D projections appearing on the façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, and Customs House, Vivid Sydney showcases Sydney as a hub for the creative industries, with world-first technologies and design used to create the stunning spectacle of light.

Darling Harbour’s Laser-Dragon Water-Theatre also features a world-first water-screen mounted on a 13 metre robotic arm floating high above 56 fountains.

Destination NSW Chief Executive and Executive Producer of Vivid Sydney Sandra Chipchase commented “Vivid Sydney has again delivered remarkable technical and artistic world-firsts as part of Vivid Light.

“Our biggest ever Vivid Sydney program will deliver an impressive line-up of music acts from punk rockers to global superstars, up-and-coming homegrown talent, cabaret legends and more.

“This matched by a diverse program of social trend disrupters, including Jenji Kohan, Spike Jonze, Beau Willimon and Margaret Zhang, who appear as part of Vivid Ideas talks and forum series. Vivid Sydney 2016 is truly a celebration of innovation and creativity.”

Image: Vivid Sydney’s Songlines illuminates the Sydney Opera House -artist Donny Woolagoodja/Destination NSW (top) and the illuminated Opera House from Luna Park (middle).

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