The article is written by Maddison Reynolds
Sydney’s Vivid Festival is back! From May 25 – June 16, Sydney will light up as Australia’s biggest art and culture festival transforms the city into an array of colour and sensory experience. The best way to explore Vivid is by foot. Here’s a guide to some of this year’s must-see locations.
SEE:
Harmony Valley – Rainbow of Peace & Trees of Friendship
The Rocks
I’m guilty of having already selfied with this site prior to the official Vivid Launch, but once you set eyes on this masterpiece of warm-and-fuzzy’s, you’ll understand why.
The piece by numerous Australian, Iranian and Asian artists represents harmony, joy and happiness through a set of large inflatable sculptures. The Japanese ‘kawaii’ references are obvious, as are feelings of youthfulness, friendship and vulnerability.
Event organisers are encouraging visitors to interact with the sculpture by forming a human chain that connects with each end of the rainbow. The sculpture responds to this show of connection with sounds, animation and pulsing light.
Hidden Art
Kings Cross
Created by TAFE NSW students, Hidden Art takes visitors on an augmented reality journey through the imaginative worlds of some of Australia’s greatest sculptors and visual artists.
Simply visit the Fitzroy Gardens and open up your Vivid Sydney app to unlock Hidden Art. The stories behind the new-age, media sculptures will come alive as users scan the area.
Installations change weekly throughout the Vivid Festival. 
Lighting of the Sails: Metamathemagical
Circular Quay
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Vivid Festival, Australian artist Jonathan Zawada has transformed the Sydney Opera House sails into a series of kinetic digital sculptures.
Zawada’s inspiration for the concept came from imagery inspired by the Australian environment. Everyday objects and natural specimens will undergo metamorphosis in Zawada’s creation, featuring alongside a canon of Australian artwork.
Skylark
City and Surrounds
There’s little chance you’ll miss this installation by Iain Reed of 32 Hundred Lighting. Skylark incorporates interactive lighting of the Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay skyscrapers. For the first time this year, a fully interactive custom-built laser has been incorporated into the installation.
Every 30 minutes the beacon, skyscrapers, pillars of light and the Harbour Bridge put on a two-minute sky show.
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
City and Surrounds
The iconic Australian characters of Snugglepot and Cuddlepie are celebrated in this year’s event, on their hundredth anniversary. Australian’s are familiar with May Gibbs’ famous children’s characters, who dropped out of a gumtree to a world of adventure.
Gibbs’ work is celebrated on the façade of Sydney’s 1845 Customs House.
Tumbalong Lights
Darling Harbour
Tumbalong Lights features four under-the-sea-themed, interactive-play installations. This year’s installation is all-inclusive, meaning that people with disabilities have full access to interact with the displays.
The display features the following works: ‘Beneath the Sea’ by Matt York; ‘Enchanted Garden’ by Lucka Slatner; ‘In the Scale of the Sea’ by George Buchanan and Govinda Webster; and ‘Ride into the Night’ by Antony Neeson and Mark Vincent.
Virtual Vibration
The Rocks
Fans of modernism should head to the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia to view the evolving light display created by the Spinifex Group in collaboration with Australian artist Jonny Niesche and composer, Mark Pritchard.
The display transforms the exterior façade of the MCA, lighting up the building with a psychedelic, sensory experience, accompanied by a mesmerising score.
All light installations begin at 6:00pm and finish at 11:00pm from May 25 – June 16.
EAT:
The Squire’s Landing
Circular Quay, The Rocks
Take in the sights and sounds of this year’s Vivid Festival at the newly opened, The Squire’s Landing. The microbrewery and bar is the latest venture by a master brewer, James Squire. Offering striking views of both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, The Squire’s Landing serves up an array of on-tap beer and fresh food.
For a limited time only, The Squire’s Landing is home to the world’s oldest surviving beer, The Wreck Preservation Ale. The beer is crafted using 220-year old yeast discovered upon the wreckage of Australia’s oldest merchant shipwreck, the Sydney Cove.
