VIVID SYDNEY 2024 FESTIVAL RECAP

Vivid 2024

Vivid Light

Thirty light installations and 3D projections completed this year’s 8km Vivid Sydney Light Walk, highlighted by the Sydney Opera House, featuring the breathtaking new digital artwork, Lighting of the Sails: Echo (2024) by multidisciplinary Australian artist and 2023 Archibald Prize Winner Julia Gutman, with creative technologists Pleasant Company.

Reg Mombassa reimagined the classic Aussie road trip on Customs House for Gumscape with Road and Creatures, and festival goers stepped into a canopy thick with countless LED ropes in the technicolour, immersive installation Connection by New Zealand artist, Angus Muir.

Dark Spectrum: A New Journey returned to the Wynyard Tunnels, the internationally acclaimed multi-sensory experience of light, colour and sound, Lightscape, returned to The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Festival goers also witnessed a 40km stretch of rainbow lasers emanating from the Sydney Tower, a universal symbol of hope by US artist Yvette Mattern titled Global Rainbow.

Vivid Music

One of the hottest festival tickets, Tekno Train by Paul Mac, became a sell-out, one-of-a-kind interactive experience that transformed a Sydney Trains ride into a moving, sensory sound and light experience, while the reimagined 100-year-old substation Machine Hall pulsated with performances from Deerhoof, Jen Cloher, CLUB4A, No Fixed Address and more.

Vivid 2024

Tumbalong Park in Darling Harbour also became the Vivid Sydney go-to for free and contemporary music right in the heart of the Light Walk for Tumbalong Nights. The 12-night line-up featured artists such as Sneaky Sound System, Forest Claudette, Teenage Jones, tiffi, Budjerah, grentperez, and more, plus DJs and kids programming on Saturday nights, all free of charge.

Diverse and multi-sensory experiences were on offer at Carriageworks, with an electrifying line-up including Electric Fields, Yves Tumor, Yasiin Bey and many more.

Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House featured Australian and international artists, including Arca, Air, Underworld, Fever Ray, Devonte Hynes, Snoh Alegra, Sky Ferreira, Thelma Plum and many more, who took to the stages of the world-famous building in a program curated by Sydney Opera House’s Head of Contemporary Music Ben Marshall.

 

Vivid Ideas

Vivid 2024

One of the fastest selling events on the 2024 program, Golden Globe® and Emmy Award® winning actress and comedian Amy Poehler headlined Vivid Ideas for a special and unmissable In Conversation event at Sydney Opera House, which included a special first look at Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2.
Another Vivid Ideas sell out, Sex Work: A legal and social history, offered an immersive look into the sex industry of Kings Cross and Darlinghurst, while the Golden Age of Humanity showcased nine films over nine nights curated by nine great Australians including Amar Singh, Saxon Mullins, Kylie Kwong AM, Kate McClymont AM, Craig Foster AM and more.

A THOUSAND WAYS: An Encounter, Window Dressing and Shifting Perspectives offered immersive moments to connect with both strangers and ourselves, while Tony Gustavsson, head coach of the CommBank Matildas, and CommBank Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold shared an insightful conversation – Champions of Change - facilitated by Matildas alumni and now journalist Grace Gill at Sydney Town Hall.

Vivid Food

One of Vivid Food’s most hotly anticipated dining experiences, Vivid Residence, returned within Kiln restaurant at Ace Hotel Sydney with Latin America’s best female chef, Manoella ‘Manu’ Buffara,
Vivid Chef Series returned to hatted restaurants Fred’s, AALIA, The Porter House, Firedoor and The Charles Brasserie & Bar for unmissable foodie collaborations with Michelin-starred chefs including Max Coen, Ivan Brehm, Selassie Atadika, Niklas Ekstedt and Sally Abé.

Vivid Fire Kitchen

Vivid Fire Kitchen was a fan favourite among festival goers, popular for its delectable offerings at its new location on The Goods Line, which included an illuminated full-scale Messina Milk Bar pop-up with a menu of gelato-infused chocolate bars, dixie cups, tailor-made milkshakes and spiders.

Our Shared Humanity presented a series of exclusive dinners at Refettorio OzHarvest with the state’s best chefs, including Christine Manfield, Darren Robertson, Mitch Orr and more, plating up their unique take on a three-course vegetarian menu, made using rescued NSW produce.