Speaker 1 00:03
With information on the latest developments in assistive technology and initiatives, from the studios of 2RPH in Sydney, RPH Australia brings you AbleQuest. Hello, I'm Marnie Roper. Vivid Sydney, produced by Destination Sydney, New South Wales, is the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas.
Speaker 1 00:32
This year it will be running for 23 nights from 26 May until 17 June. Vivid Sydney is where art and technology intersect. Vivid light consists of large -scale light installations and projections, notably on the Opera House and prominent buildings around Circular Quay and elsewhere in the CBD.
Speaker 1 00:55
The vivid light walk, the longest yet, is 8 .5 kilometres, stretching around the harbour from the Opera House to Central Station. Vivid music presents cutting -edge music programs from local and international acts.
Speaker 1 01:11
Vivid ideas consists of creative ideas, discussion and debate. And a new pillar in 2023 is Vivid food, which is all about celebrating those that make Sydney's food scene so special. The Vivid organisers have made a concerted effort to make this astonishing and world -renowned festival inclusive to all.
Speaker 1 01:34
There is a designated website specifically for information about accessibility to help visitors with special needs to pre -plan their trip. On this you will find an accessibility map indicating all accessible facilities and services.
Speaker 1 01:51
That website is vivid .access at vnsw .com .au Barbara Sullivan spoke with Gil Minovini, Festival Director of Vivid Sydney, to hear about this year's exciting program.
Speaker 2 02:10
Hello Gil, thanks for joining us today on AbleQuest. Now from humble beginnings back in 2009 projecting light on both sides of the opera house, Vivid Sydney has grown to be one of the largest light festivals in the world, phenomenal.
Speaker 2 02:25
And this year is your first year as the director.
Speaker 3 02:29
It's actually my second year, Barbara. Oh, is it? Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2 02:33
you are responsible for some of the great things that happened in 2022.
Speaker 3 02:36
That's right, yep, being a fabulous team.
Speaker 2 02:40
Okay. Well, what I'd like to know before we start talking about the event itself, I just have to say that Vivid couldn't be in better hands than yours. You've got a reputation for delivering unforgettable, immersive experiences.
Speaker 2 02:52
And tell us a little bit about your background, Gil.
Speaker 3 02:55
Well, firstly, it's just a real pleasure to be on the show, and thanks for having me. But in answer to your question, I've been working in events now for about 30 years. Started working in theatre originally in Adelaide, my hometown, and moved to Sydney about 30 years ago.
Speaker 3 03:09
And probably my first taste of working on big events was for Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, where I was the festival director many, many years ago in the late 80s, early 90s. And since then, I kind of got hooked on the big event sort of adrenaline rush, which it is.
Speaker 3 03:27
And was creative director for the City of Sydney for many years and producer of all their events. So things like Lunar New Year and Art and About and Christmas celebrations. And then went out on my own and worked for Mona in Tasmania as the creative producer for the Winter Feast, which is part of Dark Mofo, which is a winter event there.
Speaker 3 03:49
And worked on the Adelaide Festival, worked on Firelight, which is a big winter festival in Melbourne. Yeah, so I guess done my fair share of winter events and events around Australia. And so it was really lovely to be able to get the opportunity to work on the big one, which is visit Sydney, of course.
Speaker 2 04:05
So this year's Vivid is bigger than ever, and especially I see the Vivid Lightwalk has got even bigger. Can you, so to speak, walk us through it?
Speaker 3 04:15
Well it's eight and a half kilometers so a little bit longer than last year but a couple of interesting new things this year but we go from the Opera House and sort of hug the harbour through Walsh Bay, Barangaroo and we're really doing a lot in Barangaroo Reserve this year and the Cutaway, King Street Wharf, Darling Harbour, Darling Square, Darling Forta, the Goods Line and then to Central Station.
Speaker 3 04:38
So the great thing is now that you can start your light walk experience you can start it at Central Station, you can start it at Wynyard, Town Hall or Circular Key, you don't have to go to Circular Key to start or whatever you can pick your own adventure if you like.
Speaker 3 04:52
But this year we've also got a couple of ticketed events that are part of our light program and one is lightscape at the Royal Botanic Gardens and one is called Dark Spectrum which is in the Wynyard tunnels, in the tunnels underneath Wynyard station that have never been opened to the public before so very very exciting but the 57 installations on the light walk between Central and the Opera House are completely free and this year our festival theme or festival direction is Vivid Sydney Naturally so it's all about our connection with the natural world so all of the artists have responded to that theme and I think when your listeners come and have a look they'll really see a through line or a narrative if you like across all of the light walks.
Speaker 2 05:37
As you know, this program is a lot about accessibility, so how accessible is the LightWalk?
Speaker 3 05:43
Well, we at Vivid Sydney pride ourselves on being accessible, you know, as accessible as we can for everyone. And I would thank you to say that we're probably the most successful event of this scale, definitely in Australia, and maybe even one of the most successful events in the world.
Speaker 3 05:58
The whole light walk is wheelchair friendly. So in terms of wheelchair accessibility, we've created a street gradient guide on our map to help highlight the easiest route for anyone with accessibility requirements.
Speaker 3 06:12
We have wheelchair ramps in key areas of the festival. Wheelchair users can also use accessible toilets located throughout the festival site. We've got 10 accessible drop off stones available across the festival and more details of, you know, these things and more, you can find on the how to get their pages of the website.
Speaker 2 06:31
And you've got some designated viewing areas where it's easy for people to see.
Speaker 3 06:36
Yeah we have designated viewing areas with unreserved seating and you can come along, bring your favourite blanket, have a seat and enjoy less obstructive views and they're a great space to take it all in and have a break from the crowds and they're at Hickson Road, the Museum of Contemporary Art on the lawns and kind of the MCA there and at Tumbulong Park so really great location for taking in some of the major installations and projections.
Speaker 2 07:02
Now the vision impaired are also catered for, well, I gather that, for example, audio description, a vivid house, for example, is going to be audio described.
Speaker 3 07:12
Yeah, all of the installations and projections are described and the audio description provides like a verbal commentary of the visual elements of the festival. So you can experience the festival through sound.
Speaker 3 07:23
And the vivid house that you talked about is in Cutaway this year at Barangaroo Reserve and it's also in the Cutaway will be the Vivid Fire Kitchen which is part of Vivid Food, our new pillar this year for Vivid.
Speaker 3 07:35
But the vivid house is a 360 degree immersive sound and light experience that there's four works in there, four video works that all talk about our relationship with the natural world and that will be an awesome experience and as I said that will also be part of our audio description program.
Speaker 2 07:54
So it's not just about light, as you alluded to. Vivid is much bigger. You've got vivid music, vivid ideas. Can you give us a brief overview of those areas of the festival, Gil?
Speaker 3 08:05
That's right. Well, Vivid Music, a lot of free events in Vivid Music this year on the Tumbulong Park stage. There's free DJs, Sunday to Wednesday and then Thursday, Friday, Saturday night. Some of the world's most incredible bands and we've got a real focus on First Nations music this year.
Speaker 3 08:23
So bands like Yothi Yindi, performers like Dan Sultan and The Donovan are just fabulous representations of our creative music scene. Cornelius from Japan. So it's really set for great soundscape, I guess, if you like, or backdrop for the for viewing the lightwalk.
Speaker 3 08:40
We have roving entertainment through the goods line, DJs on the goods line as well. So really trying to, I guess, integrate all the pillars of Vivid as much as we can. Vivid Ideas, of course, also with Vivid Music, the Vivid Live program at the Opera House and the Vivid Music program at Carriageworks.
Speaker 3 08:58
So it's quite a big music program. Check the website for more information about that. Vivid Ideas this year is being headlined by none other than Jennifer Coolidge and Mike White of White Lotus Fame, who'll be at the ICC.
Speaker 3 09:12
And that show's nearly sold out. So you might get online and get your tickets very quickly if you want to see that one. Jeanette Winston, author of Oranges are Not the Only Fruit and Sex in the Cherry and many others will be at Town Hall.
Speaker 3 09:24
The Vivid Ideas Exchange, of course, with a range of talks across many subjects to do with our relationship with the natural environment and a lot of things, I think, that will be of interest to your audience there.
Speaker 3 09:36
And of course, Vivid Food is brand new this year. So we've got a variety of events for Vivid Food. Daniel Hum from Eleven Madison in New York coming over to Cook at Aria. We have a Vivid Chef series.
Speaker 3 09:49
We have the Vivid Fire Kitchen, which is a celebration of all things barbecue and food cooked on flames. Astabar are doing a fabulous cocktail and food experience where you get an amazing view of the light walk and the Opera House and everything.
Speaker 3 10:02
So yeah, too many to describe in this short time. I really do believe this year there's something for everyone. So really urge your listeners to get on to VividSydney .com and have a really good look at what's available.
Speaker 2 10:15
Now tell me the food venues, the food events, are they accessible?
Speaker 3 10:20
Yes, most of them would be yes and in fact I think nearly all of them are. I haven't personally gone through every single one of them for that but yes we aim to make all of our events successful and all of them are very well -known restaurants or bars or things like that so they would have accessibility requirements in place.
Speaker 2 10:37
I know that public transport is recommended, and clearly it's the best way of managing the crowds that are going to be there, but does Vivid Sydney offer any help to get people with a disability easier access?
Speaker 3 10:50
Yeah, we have accessibility parking areas for vans, and you just need to ring up and book that. So yeah, we can organize that. Any further information on those sort of things. We have a website. If I can give that website address, it's vivid .access at dnsw .com .au.
Speaker 3 11:09
Vivid .access at dnsw .com .au or 99311190.
Speaker 2 11:17
and that also has the map on it, I imagine.
Speaker 3 11:20
It does. It has our accessible map, which will show you, you know, the drop -off zone for the buses that I talked about, the ramp, wheelchair access, accessible toilets, all of those sorts of things.
Speaker 3 11:32
So we suggest that people, in terms of public transport, of course, we suggest to people that they come on our less busy nights, and we suggest this to everyone really, because it's, you know, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, it's a very, very different experience.
Speaker 3 11:44
Obviously, Friday, Saturdays and Sundays. Yes. But to take public transport, that will be the easiest way to get there if you can. And as I said, if not, we do have accessible mini bus parking and a range of other mechanisms to make your trip a lot easier.
Speaker 3 11:59
But probably best if you have a specific need to contact that email address and that number that I gave.
Speaker 2 12:04
And you gave us a bit of advice then. And I know that people with access needs like to prepare before they get to an event. You mentioned going on the earlier in the week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, for example.
Speaker 2 12:15
Have you got any specific advice that might help them prepare other than go to the website?
Speaker 3 12:20
Well, to be honest, that is the easiest way of kind of planning your night. I think probably, I say to people, it's almost impossible to do the light walk -in one night. So I think in the ideal world, if you've got two or even three nights that you can maybe allocate to your vivid Sydney experience, it will be a much more enjoyable one rather than trying to race through.
Speaker 3 12:39
But yeah, I think coming on the slow night, taking public transport if you can, and taking in, you know, perhaps something that you might not necessarily always do. So, you know, if you can take in the vivid house and the vivid food kitchen, some of the food program and some of the light program at once, or there's a fabulous show called Elemental in Cockle Bay, which is the biggest water show we've ever produced, the biggest water show in Australia that's got 80 -metre shooters and fireworks and all that kind of thing.
Speaker 3 13:07
We have the Southern Hemisphere's biggest drone show that's on Wednesday and Sunday night with 1 ,100 drones. So yeah, they're just some of the tips for this year's vivid.
Speaker 2 13:18
Absolutely amazing. It sounds like Sydney is going to just light up and be so exciting for those three weeks.
Speaker 3 13:25
the 26th of May to the 17th of June.
Speaker 2 13:28
26th of May to the 17th of June. Gil, thanks so much for talking to us today and I can't wait to get there myself.
Speaker 3 13:34
My pleasure, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 13:36
I've just had the pleasure of speaking with Gil Minervini, Festival Director of Vivid Sydney. We hope you can manage to experience Vivid yourself, coming up on 26 May until 17 June.
Speaker 1 13:56
You have just been listening to AbleQuest, a program that looks at developments in assistive technology. From Barbara Sullivan and Marnie Roper, thank you for listening and goodbye to our next program.
