Move over Rising and Vivid, there’s a new contender for Australia’s most enchanting winter festival. Illuminate Adelaide is a celebration of art, light technology and music, taking place in Adelaide this month from July 4-21. The line-up looks positively captivating as the festival enters its fourth year – we’d say it’s the perfect excuse to jet over to SA for a mini break.
So, what can you expect when you make the trip? Adelaide will light up literally and figuratively with a mix of free and ticketed events. The city-wide after-dark festival spans 17 nights of breathtaking attractions and intriguing installations.
Millions of people are expected to hit the streets to check out City Lights, where 40 installations and projections will, you guessed it, illuminate the Adelaide CBD. Polychromatic works will transform some of Adelaide’s most well-known buildings, including Government House, Lot Fourteen, Art Gallery of South Australia and Bonython Hall. Highlights include ‘Chronoharp’, a massive multiplayer instrument that reverberates with light and sound, as well as ‘Spectrum of Happiness’, a rainbow of different coloured swings paying homage to the brightness diversity brings to our lives.
Head into the Adelaide Botanic Garden to experience a spellbinding work of flame art from French fire alchemist Compagnie Carabosse. Fire Gardens features more than 7,000 handcrafted fire pots creating a spectacle of leaping flames, as well as kinetic sculptures, smouldering arches and candlelit pathways.
If interactive installations from Berlin are your jam, The Light Room at ILA is hosting Eden, where you can watch a digital garden bloom at your fingertips across 150 square meters of LED screens.
Over at Adelaide Zoo, Universal Kingdom: Prehistoric Nights will take you back to the Mesozoic Era, to a land of puppets, lights and dinosaurs. Before or after exploring, circle back to Base Camp at Lot Fourteen, where you can grab a bite and enjoy performances.
The festival’s packed music program is likely to impress even the pickiest audiophiles. Dutch pianist Joep Beving will explore the connection between light and sound, while British electronic musician Max Cooper will perform with support from boundary-pushing club producer Motez. There’ll also be a special appearance from former Sonic Youth member Kim Gordon, as part of Unsound.
Discover the full Illuminate Adelaide program and book tickets via the festival website.
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