For three weeks, the city of Sydney will be awash with lights for the annual Vivid. After a two-year hiatus, Vivid Sydney returns with over 200 events running from 27 May to 18 June.

Vivid embodies the soul of the city – a celebration of art, innovation and technology. It brings to light the stories of our artists and musicians, but also the history of Sydney, the design and technology it has created, and what to expect for the future.

The return of Vivid has brought a sense of jubilant anticipation to the city. There are events, exhibitions, performances and sights for everyone at Vivid this year, including the design curious.

So we’ve curated a list for you – the morning before lights on – with just ten events of ideas and lights from Vivid that we don’t want to miss and don’t want you to miss either.

1. Designing with country

Join BVN’s principal architect Kevin O’Brien, along with other leading voices of design and architecture in an essential and insightful conversation on how First Nations thinking shapes our built environment and a future Australia.

Read more here

2. Sydney Harbour Bridge’s 90th birthday

Celebrate the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s 90th birthday – our symbol of modernity, connectivity and the city itself. The Historical Archive will release over 100 years of photography, revealing stories and experiences of the people and places the bridge connects across Australia – a collection that will be on show on the Harbour Bridge every night.

Read more here

3. Flood, Fire, Plague: Can greener cities protect us from disaster?

With disaster after disaster, we’re seeing the cities we currently have cannot protect us. This event poses the question: if we design our cities and towns greener, what might this future look like? And what would it take to create it against the coming storm?

Read more here

4. TRACES

As an audio-visual journey that responds to real-time involvement, TRACES is an Indigenous-led multimodal project inspired by the artworks of Kamsani Bin Salleh. TRACES fuse generative art, projection, voice and light that guide you across the country from the east coast to the west, accompanied by poetry from Kirli Saunders that tells the story of our connections to the land, its colours and forms.

Read more here

5. Sydney infinity

Hundreds of multi-textured nozzles, jets and LED lights will dance with water on the Darling Harbour. Accompanied by a soundtrack that embodies the soul of Sydney, this water show takes light artistry and aquatic technology to an unprecedented level.

Read more here

6. Ideas and innovators transforming the world

On this panel, listen to the voices of Sydney’s greatest innovators that have changed the world for the better. Learn how these leaders utilise creativity, technology and humanity to help design and transform the world around us.

Read more here

7. We dream the city

Witness the ideals, transformations and visions that have shaped Sydney into the metropolis that it is today. This light show paints projections of our past along the Powerhouse Museum and offers a moment of reflection on how we collectively shape the future of urban life.

Read more here

8. The art of deep looking – cultivating creativity

Experience the city in a different light with these experimental sensory labs that take iconic architectural spaces and challenge your perception of creativity and imagination. Each lab engages with art, nature or architecture in sharing new techniques of thought, challenging your perspectives.

Read more here

9. Crosswalk this way

A charming reimagining of the familiar ‘don’t walk/walk’ instructions of pedestrian crosswalks, i2C Architects and Empire 3D Printing + Design introduce a twist on pedestrian crosswalks. With quirky suggestions such as stand/dance, hold hands/kiss and others, the symbols use a call to action to tap into universal human emotions, highlighting shared experiences across a diverse spectrum of people.

Read more here

10. Lighting of the sails

The most iconic sight of Vivid, the lighting of the sails captures the spirit of the iconic Australian landmark. Each year, an internationally-renowned artist is commissioned to create an original artwork to be projected on the Sydney Opera House. This year, the collective painting Yarrkalpa – Hunting Ground, Parnngurr Area 2013 by Martumili will be displayed across the sails.

Read more here

Vivid Sydney is not something to miss with its grand return. To prepare yourself for the weeks ahead, check here to see all 200 events that you can be a part of.

For more information, visit vividsydney.com.

Images: Supplied

Architecture & Design Team

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