All Things Bright And Beautiful: The Must-See Events Of VIVID 2017

Sydney's annual festival of light, art and thought, VIVID, is once again preparing to turn the city's most iconic landmarks (as well as some of its less travelled corners) into vibrant, dynamic works of luminous art. This year, the festival's artists have taken inspiration from the animal kingdom, celebrating the diversity and abundance of life found across our planet. Add to this an incandescent line-up of live performances, events and talks, and you've got a cultural carnival unlike any other in the country. However, navigating such a sprawling citywide program has its hurdles, so to help you get the most out of this year's program, we've cherry-picked some of the top events you won't want to miss.

Sail Away

By far the most popular event at VIVID each year is the centrepiece artistic commission, which lights up the Sydney Opera House's world-famous sails. This year, the prestigious artwork has been created by hometown hero Ash Bolland, whose Audio Creatures piece will conjure a psychedelic menagerie of imagined animals. The looping 15-minute piece has been conceived to be seen from multiple perspectives, from far across the Harbour to on the Opera House's steps alike, ensuring that visitors can discover subtle details and small frissons the more they explore. Bolland's swirling projections will be accompanied by an original soundtrack by legendary Brazilian electronica master Amon Tobin.

Where The Wild Things Are

By day, Taronga Zoo boasts some of the most breathtaking sights in Sydney, both from its host of animal exhibits and its stunning views of the Sydney Harbour and its various landmarks. But during VIVID, there will be even more spectacles to marvel at after dark. Dotted throughout the zoo's crisscross of leafy pathways, visitors will meet a procession of light sculptures depicting endangered animals facing extinction - part of Ample Projects' Lights For The Wild. Among them will be some truly monumental creations including an Asian elephant, a colossal Port Jackson shark visitors will be able to walk through, and a family of gorillas, standing four metres tall. There's more fauna to be found across the water in the CBD. Martin Place will play host to two of the most spectacular examples: Urban Tree 2.0 will turn the idiosyncratic Commercial Travellers Association building into a tropical tree replete with exotic creatures, and re/FRACTION will turn the Lloyd Rees fountain into a mesmeric, shimmering aquatic wonderland.

Seeing Is Believing

Sydney's newest precinct at Barangaroo is being put to good use by VIVID this year, with a series of installations that can be caught in a single visit. As you wander along its freshly landscaped trails, at the Southern end of the development, you'll discover A Day In The Light by French-Italian artistic collective Danny Rose. Visitors will be transported to a mystical universe as this immersive installation combines projections and soundscapes to explore the phases of light across the course of a day. The piece has been conceived as a work of 'synaesthesia', with visual elements directly twinned with their sonic counterparts, making this a feast for the senses unlike any other on offer at this year's VIVID. Yet more trippy experiences can be found in Barangaroo courtesy of Trapdoor, created by Sydney-based installation designers Spinifex Group. Using optical illusions, watch as the ground beneath your feet opens up to reveal a subterranean hinterland below.

X Marks The Spot

There's more than just pretty lights to be found at VIVID, with a program of performances celebrating the unseen parts of the city on offer as well. One of the most unique events on the billing is the return of the wildly successful immersive production by visionary Australian theatre and dance maker Lucas Jervies, Hidden Sydney. Back for its third season since premiering last year, the production offers festivalgoers a trip back in time to experience what was once Sydney's most chequered and exciting nightspot, Kings Cross. Meet the colourful characters that earned the area the nickname "The Glittering Mile" in close quarters, in a thoroughly original production that places the audience right in the thick of the action. It's a bittersweet portrait of a seedy, sassy, singular community and a unique part of the city's culture that in recent years has been all but extinguished thanks to Sydney's smothering lockout laws, but it won't be the only tribute to this rich history. The Kings Bloody Cross series - part of VIVID's Ideas program - will also present a number of talks exploring the highs and lows of this infamous suburb.

Game On

Beyond the visual delights to be found on the city streets, VIVID also aims to light up the imaginations of Sydneysiders with its program of lectures. Headlining the Game-Changers talk series - a series of talks and presentations by those bright sparks who have changed the way the world thinks - will be political art icon Shepard Fairey, best known for his OBEY GIANT image and the HOPE campaign poster that became the defining image of Barack Obama's historic ascendancy to the US Presidency. Fairey will be sharing his experiences as a self-made artist who took the principles of street art and urban culture and brought them into the area of contemporary politics and graphic design. Other must-see speakers appearing in the Game-Changers series are Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, and media wunderkind and BuzzFeed founder Jonah Peretti.

What: VIVID 2017
​When: 26 May — 17 Jun