cityscape awash with colour...vivid sydney 2011

As light projections sprawl over the normally grey buildings that surround Circular Quay tonight, do not be alarmed. This isn’t a guerilla colour-obsessed artist working by night, it is in fact part of the exciting third annual Vivid Sydney 2011 festival which will be splashing light, music and colour all over the streets of Sydney from 27 May – 13 June 2011.

There are countless activities, performances and interactive light sculptures to fill your nights as well as a range of public talks and debates from leading creative thinkers around the world. Acclaimed French design collective SUPERBIEN have designed beautiful light projections which will be illuminating the Sydney Opera House.

As part of Vivid Sydney, Vivid LIVE invites a different curator to organize a program of events in the iconic Sydney Opera House each year.

This year, Stephen Pavlovic, founder of Modular Records, has gotten his hands on the line-up and done sweet sweet things to it. We have him to thank for bringing the likes of The Cure, Chris Cunningham, OFWGTA, Tame Impala, Bat For Lashes, The Avalanches, WU LYF, and Spiritualized to our shores. Following in the footsteps of Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson and Brian Eno, it is the first time ever than an Australian has curated the event.

There is also the The Sony Lounge, Vivid Sydney's own pop- up bar, which is set up along the Western foyers of Sydney Opera House. A rotating lineup of DJs will play each night until June 5. After sipping some mulled wine, you can wander around and check out more than 40 light installations or drop in to see the Fire Dance.

So, as the mercury goes down in Sydney, you have no excuse to be a couch potato! Get out there and nourish your cultural soul.

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vivid returns for 2010

Sydney’s annual Vivid festival is returning for another year, this time with the legendary Lou Reed and his co-performer Laurie Anderson as curators.

Last year, the lighting of the Sydney Opera House sails as part of Vivid was seen by 60 million people globally, but the festival has so much more to offer. It’s essentially a festival of four complementary parts: Vivid Live, Sydney Opera House Live shows; Vivid Lights, Macquarie Visions and Fire Water; Vivid Music, Song Summit 2010; and Vivid Ideas, Creative Sydney and the X Media Lab.

According to co-curator, Laurie Anderson, the Vivid Live section of the four-part festival will give attendees a chance to "jump off their street"; out of their comfort zone and into new creative experiences.

Vivid Sydney will be lighting up the city from 27 May to 21 June.

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