Vivid Sydney 2019Credit: Destination NSW
Views of Harbour Lights installations on marine vessels moving across Sydney Harbour during Vivid Sydney 2019.
#vividsydney
This year’s Vivid Sydney Ideas program is bursting with international and home-grown talent digging into important global topics and stories that reveal the essence of Sydney’s soul. We spoke to Vivid Sydney’s Ideas curator Tory Loudon, to get her top picks from the program and reveal how brilliant thinkers, immersive workshops and performances will bring ideas alive and challenge thinking.
Tory Loudon, Vivid Ideas Curator
“In 2022, the unifying aspect of Vivid Ideas and revealing the essence of Sydney’s soul, is harnessing incredible talent, both local and global, to tell stories of place informed by what’s happening around them. This year, get hands-on with playful workshops and performances, learn new skills and immerse in fun topics such as the history of Queer Sydney, the evolution of Sydney fashion and style, and Sydney's obsession with the wellness industry”. - Tory Loudon
Here are Tory’s not-to-miss Vivid Ideas talks for 2022:
Gretchen Carlson and Lisa Wilkinson on Speaking Out: 1pm-2.30pm, 20 May, Sydney Town Hall
US journalist and Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, whose story inspired the movie Bombshell starring Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie, was at the beginning of a wave of strong and vocal women raising their voices in the #metoo movement. Join Carlson in conversation with Australian TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson about power imbalances and toxic workplace cultures.
Troye Sivan on Beauty, Art and Fluidity: 5pm-6.30pm, 29 May, Sydney Town Hall
Singer-songwriter, global superstar, arts lover, and fashion maverick Troye Sivan reveals his take on beauty, creativity, and queer politics in a live intimate conversation. Hear first-hand how Troye has ridden the wave of success and navigated the vagaries of fame, using his public profile to challenge nations around masculinity, beauty and gender fluidity. “Come if you're interested in creativity and self-expression,” says Loudon.
Vivid Sydney 2022 60-Second Reel Credit: Destination NSW
Vivid Sydney bares the soul of our city through creativity, curiosity and change. For 23 days, the festival will connect our city to light artists, music makers, brilliant thinkers and all creatives. Seek change. Spark a new idea. Shine with Vivid Sydney.
#vividsydney
Vivid Sydney 2022 60-Second Reel Credit: Destination NSW
Vivid Sydney bares the soul of our city through creativity, curiosity and change. For 23 days, the festival will connect our city to light artists, music makers, brilliant thinkers and all creatives. Seek change. Spark a new idea. Shine with Vivid Sydney.
Tory Loudon, Curator, Vivid Ideas Credit: Destination NSW
Tory Loudon is the Curator of Vivid Ideas, offering more than 85 intriguing talks and workshops on offer, Vivid Ideas embraces the quirks and kinks of our humanity and starts conversations that continue long after the festival has ended.
#vividsydney
Tory Loudon, Curator, Vivid Ideas Credit: Destination NSW
Tory Loudon is the Curator of Vivid Ideas, offering more than 85 intriguing talks and workshops on offer, Vivid Ideas embraces the quirks and kinks of our humanity and starts conversations that continue long after the festival has ended.
Dying Well with Lynette Wallworth, Vivid Ideas Exchange, 1.30pm-3pm, UTS - The Great Hall
Lynette will share her deep interest in end-of-life rituals and how cultural differences reflect our understanding of what happens at the end of our lives – something all of us will have to face. Don’t miss the fascinating insight provided by Dr Justin Dwyer from St Vincent’s Melbourne on using VR in palliative care, and Dr Chris Kerr who is the CMO and CEO at Hospice and Pallative Care in Buffalo New York, who will share his research into the dreams of dying patients.
The Future of Drugs, Vivid Ideas Exchange. 6.30pm-7.30pm, 3 June, UTS - The Great Hall
There is so much debate and conversation around the decriminalisation, legislation, and medicalisation of both psychedelic and illicit drugs. A group of medical experts will come together to discuss this divisive topic, to unpack the latest therapeutic breakthroughs and research into psychoactive medicine. “There will be plenty of time for questions and I think this will be a mind-expanding session with lively discussion,” Loudon shared.
Vivid Ideas Up Late Series: Free events at Sydney’s Cultural Institutions
These free nights across the city are always a highlight for me, and this year reflect Sydney’s diversity – fusing talks, performance, workshops and art. At the Australian Museum, join Brigid Delaney and Benjamin Law for Wellmania as they unpack Sydney’s wellness obsession. Over at the Powerhouse Museum, immerse yourself in Sydney's diverse communities and the wonderful creativity emerging from Western Sydney’s ballroom scene with Ballroom and the West Ball. Plus tackle the issue of homelessness and addiction at Falling Through the Cracks at the Australian Museum.
Tory’s Light Walk must do
Temple by Leila Jeffreys, Walsh Bay
Sydney is one of those unusual cities where there is plenty of wildlife and artist Leila Jeffreys has highlighted how lucky we are to be surrounded by birds. “Temple is beautiful and meditative – even though the Light Walk is bright and vibrant, there are pockets of stillness and places to stop.”
The Vivid Ideas program will host more than 85 intriguing talks and workshops across Sydney’s CBD.
Vivid Sydney will run for 23 nights from Friday 27 May to Saturday 18 June 2022. For more information go to www.vividsydney.com and get social using @vividsydney and #vividsydney.
More Inspirational Stories
The Fall Guy Credit: Universal & UPI Media
The Fall Guy in Sydney with a spectacular Glebe Island Silo Stunt
#feelnewsydney
Action-comedy film The Fall Guy explodes onto Australian screens on 24 April, and along with Hollywood superstars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, Sydney also plays a starring role. But the city isn’t just a backdrop to many of the action-packed scenes in the film, it also offers real-life action experiences to get your heart pumping. Here’s our guide to high-octane experiences in Sydney.
On-the-water adrenaline
Just like Ryan Gosling blasting around Sydney Harbour in a high-speed boat chase, you too can feel the wind in your hair, the sea spray on your face and your heart in your mouth on an Oz Jet Boating experience. These bright red, shark-faced jetboats fish-tail, spin and slide under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, past Dawes Point Park (where we meet Jean Claude the kelpie in the film) and the iconic Sydney Opera House, leaving you breathless and somewhat damp. Turn it down a notch with a two-, three- or five-day course from EastSail, with classes on the calm shores of Rushcutters Bay, or go five-star by hiring your very own superyacht from the fleet at Sydney Harbour Luxe Charters – Ghost II was featured in the film.
Get locked in an escape room
A bolted door, a countdown clock and a series of fiendish puzzles – outsmart the bad guys and challenge your friends in one of Sydney’s best escape rooms. Award-winning The Cipher Room, with locations in Newtown and St Peters, offers immersive, expertly designed rooms. Choose from a film noir-style hotel, a mysterious abandoned toy shop or a dystopian French bunker. Entermission Sydney has virtual-reality rooms, with themes like Alice in Wonderland, a pirate ship or space station. While not strictly an escape room, the one-of-a-kind Hijinx Hotel is a fun escape-like challenge set inside a quirky 15-room hotel.
Hickson Road Reserve, Dawes Point Credit: Destination NSW
Friends walking along Sydney Harbour in the morning.
#feelnewsydney
Hickson Road Reserve, Dawes Point Credit: Destination NSW
Friends walking along Sydney Harbour in the morning.
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
#feelnewsydney
Oz Jet Boating, Sydney Harbour Credit: Destination NSW
Experience the incredible speed of the red shark boats as they blast across Sydney harbour at high speed with Oz Jet Boating.
Find your need for speed
It’s not an action movie without a car chase, and while you can’t speed through the CBD streets like Ryan Gosling and Jean Claude, you can still challenge your friends to race via go kart at Hyper Karting Moore Park. At the 410-metre indoor track, the electric cars offer plenty of exhilarating straights and corners, with a high-speed function to help you overtake your mates. True petrol heads should make a pitstop at Luddenham Raceway in southwest Sydney, where the go karts are fuelled and the 600m outdoor pro circuit offers 12 high-speed corners and even nighttime drives. Want to do the real thing? Trackschool has half-day passenger or driving experiences in a Porsche 911 Carrera also at the raceway.
Have an adventure up high
A high-stakes, sky-high chopper scene is an action flick essential; recreate the experience (minus the stress) on a flight with Sydney HeliTours. The 20- or 30-minute tours take in jaw-dropping views of harbour icons like the Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo, Bondi Beach and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Or live out your Hollywood star dreams onboard the luxury Sydney Seaplanes. If free-falling from the sky like Ryan Gosling does jumping from a multi-story building is the heart race you crave, get the thrills without the spills at iFly Downunder: fully accessible, all-ages indoor skydiving that will make you feel like a superhero. Or take a day trip to the Blue Mountains for a ride on Scenic World’s 270m-high glass-cased Beyond Skyway for that soaring feeling while safely enclosed in a cable car.
Luddenham Raceway, Luddenham Credit: Destination NSW
Track Day at Luddenham Raceway Motorsport Park, Luddenham.
#feelnewsydney
Luddenham Raceway, Luddenham Credit: Destination NSW
Track Day at Luddenham Raceway Motorsport Park, Luddenham.
Sydney Seaplanes, Rose Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Couple ready to enjoy a Sydney Seaplanes flight from Rose Bay, Sydney.
#feelnewsydney
Sydney Seaplanes, Rose Bay Credit: Destination NSW
Couple ready to enjoy a Sydney Seaplanes flight from Rose Bay, Sydney.
Scale walls and cliffs
Action heroes need to be agile and spider-like; flex your skills scaling rock walls at one of Sydney’s top indoor rock-climbing centres. Climb Fit in St Leonards has beginner and high-tech climbs using augmented reality, while Ledge is a smaller centre in Camperdown perfect for beginners, and BlocHaus in Marrickville focuses solely on bouldering. If you prefer to climb surrounded by waterfalls and forests, make the extra leap to the Blue Mountains, and challenge yourself on an abseil or rock-climb under the expert guidance of the Blue Mountains Adventure Company.
Spots to refuel
After all that adventuring, you’re going to need a spot to refuel and cheers to a big day. Make it a meal with a view at Aster Bar on top of the InterContinental Sydney – with uninterrupted views of the harbour. The rooftop bar featured in the film is the Ivy – which is a local favourite for big nights out. Partake in Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt’s love for spicy margaritas at Centro 86, a new underground tequila bar in the CBD, or taste award-winning cocktails at Dean and Nancy on 22. Finish up with a feast at one of the restaurants located around Jones Bay Wharf (you’ll spot this area in the film as Ryan Gosling hides on his boat from the bad guys) or snack in the late-night dining havens in Chinatown: try Japanese izakaya Nakano Darling, xiao long bao from Nanjing Dumpling or Mamak’s legendary roti.
Rest your head
Even heroes need their beauty sleep. Rest up like an A-lister at the Kimpton Margot, a recently opened CBD hotel with Art Deco touches, and featured in the movie (ask Kevin for the fruit plate). Compact yet comfortable, the Little National Hotel is located in the heart of the city near Wynyard (also a major filming locale for The Fall Guy). And for a boutique hotel suitable for everyone from film stars to stunt crew, stay in the Ace Hotel in Surry Hills, with unique in-room features like guitars, record players and locally made custom robes.
Sydney Adventure Tours, Katoomba Credit: Destination NSW
Sydney Adventure Tours offers private tours to the Blue Mountains. With an experienced tour guide, take a bushwalk through nature and experience the rainforests.
#feelnsw #newsouthwales
Sydney Adventure Tours, Katoomba Credit: Destination NSW
Sydney Adventure Tours offers private tours to the Blue Mountains. With an experienced tour guide, take a bushwalk through nature and experience the rainforests.
Little National Hotel, Sydney Credit: Little National Hotel
The rooftop lounge at the Little National, in Wynyard in Sydney.
#feelnewsydney
Little National Hotel, Sydney Credit: Little National Hotel
The rooftop lounge at the Little National, in Wynyard in Sydney.