Dance is a vessel for emotion: mourning, loss, joy, love, and everything in between. Wendy Yu's work Acts of Holding Dance explores dance as communication, showcasing how simple movement can capture the fleetingness of time and the full spectrum of the human experience.

With a design inspired by the complexity of the human brain and each individual globe represented as a memory, this intricate light and sound installation activates on touch to send those memories traveling throughout the structure. The longer you touch a globe, the longer the memory lasts. Music by Otis Studios and Oliver Pieterse.

Collectif Scale’s Ammonite - one of the French collective’s most iconic and successful works over the past six years – makes its Australian debut at Queen’s Theatre. Perfectly still but created to give the illusion of an organic, dynamic object, this experience combines light and music to create an unforgettable, entrancing spectacle with its volumetric design. Music from Chloé and Rami Khalife brings Ammonite to life, creating unforgettable poetry for all to contemplate and enjoy.

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France.

Akurra Pila (Two Serpents) tell the story of the two Akurras, the serpents that created the landscape of Adnyamathanha Yarta, the Flinders Ranges in South Australia.

How can we take better care of ourselves and our communities? Drained invites us to reflect on how we as individuals and society value and perceive our mental wellbeing.

Tarntanyangga Dreaming invites us to engage with cultural stories through the use of emerging technologies to learn and understand the Kaurna people's cultural and spiritual connection to country and place. Connection to country is extremely important to continue to uphold a strong and living culture, especially for future generations.

Walking in two worlds: one being a culturally rich traditional world, and the other being a western world, can be extremely difficult. This work explores the importance of connecting both worlds and ensuring culture is still present in every aspect of daily life.

The Woven Royalty series highlights the Royal Jewels as a symbol of the monarchy and delves into the impact of colonisation and England's Royal Family. This innovative approach is a powerful act of reclamation by blakifying these jewels to confront what European settlers took from Indigenous peoples in the name of the Crown.

The Woven Royalty series highlights the Royal Jewels as a symbol of the monarchy and delves into the impact of colonisation and England's Royal Family. This innovative approach is a powerful act of reclamation by blakifying these jewels to confront what European settlers took from Indigenous peoples in the name of the Crown.

Awe-inspiring constructions by day, endless digital display by night, Liquid PXL’s Electric Dandelions will light your way throughout City Lights. Standing a whopping 28 feet tall and previously presented in New York City, Toronto, Los Angeles, and Jerusalem, Electric Dandelions are enthralling electric fireworks that will enchant everyone from old to young.

Walk through the glowing Electric Tunnel with it's ever-changing colours, located out the front of the iconic home of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail on Waymouth Street. 

Partners

Find us a person who doesn’t like bubbles! In this immersive walkthrough installation, Ephemeral Droplets examines the impermanent, fleeting nature of our world captured through a series of shimmering bubbles along North Terrace. Created by Sydney company Atelier Sisu, Ephemeral Droplets’s mixture of art and architecture culminates in an unforgettable experience ready for you to explore.

Faces is an eerie amalgamation of images from strange dreams. Using artificial intelligence, this interactive installation tracks the facial traits of participants standing in front of the screen, and then unifies and aligns them to create an ever-changing 3D portrait of a single digital human.

This project is generously supported by the Consulate General of Canada

Projected onto the iconic façade of Government House, Into the Light is a portrait documentary celebrating a cast of South Australia’s most innovative and inspiring women of past, present and future. Created by Documentary duo Shalom Almond (Director) and Katrina Lucas (Producer) in collaboration with The Electric Canvas, the piece will deep-dive into the archives to explore women’s influence across a range of fields from sport and technology to the arts, public life, and social impact - revealing a rich tapestry which re-imagines our state’s history and lights up the way forward.

Into the Light will also celebrate Adelaide/Tarntanya as a proud host city of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™.

Special thanks to Her Excellency The Hon. Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia.

Program Partner: South Australian Tourism Commission

Amanda Parer's Intrude represents both the light and the dark side of the cute, fluffy rabbit, a creature beloved in our childhood. Classified as a pest here in Australia, these delicate, cuddly creatures also pose a great threat to our natural ecosystems. Illuminated in beautiful bright white light and towering in the dark, Intrude will inhabit various spots along North Terrace. 

Like the carnival games of old, this one is a test of strength. Three people in a row all jump in unison to see how far you can make the light extend. The higher and bigger you jump, the better.

Who are you picking for your team?

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

Quick as you can on this one!

Testing your reflexes to see if you can catch the light when it hits the centre of the game, Light Reflex is all about accuracy and timing – have you got the eye for it?

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

Think Connect 4 with higher stakes: it’s player versus player with only a foot pedal as your weapon. Stomp on the pad at your feet to drop your token and defeat your opponent at all costs! 

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

What would be on the mind of Rodin’s The Thinker in the 21^st century? Amanda Parer put her thinking cap on and reimagined a famous masterpiece in Man, a commentary on whether living in a world full of selfies, social media, and documenting our every move has forever altered how we view ourselves.

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

New Light 2023 showcases experimental and diverse moving image works by First Nations artists, Chantel Bates, Elizabeth Close, and Jonathon Saunders. Presented by Illuminate Adelaide and ANAT, as part of Adelaide Festival Centre’s Moving Image program. 

Told through 3D anamorphic design, animation and motion capture, No Time To Think, vividly illustrates imaginative narratives contained through projection mapping. Colourful shapes will seem to fly off the architectural features of the State Library Story Wall and excitably show the story telling capacity that projection holds. 

Overture is the first in a series of collaborative audio-visual projects between Mumbai artist Aniruddh Mehta and composer Aaron Myles Pereira, each bringing their unique expertise and approach to build sci-fi story telling through installations and live performances. Teamed with an original soundtrack, this visual art extravaganza uses light, shapes, and projection, to create an immersive experience that celebrates what Illuminate Adelaide is all about: the intersection of art, light, music, and technology.

Illuminate Adelaide is pleased to highlight South Australia's historic Parliament House. Bathing the entire façade with colour washes and light beams, witness this iconic building transformed each night with a mixture of illumination.

Particles and waves come to life in Proximity State, an interactive installation by South Australian Graduate Pathway Program artist Miles Dunne. Breath-taking from afar and lots of fun up close, enter the Proximity State grid and explore how your movements affect light and sound around you. A fully immersive experience that can be enjoyed in many different ways, Proximity State has its World Premiere at Illuminate Adelaide.

Graduate Pathway Program Partner: James and Diana Ramsay Foundation

Ever wondered what the sound of your voice could look like? Groupe LAPS have captured this poetic concept with Singing Light - an interactive experience that turns the sound of someone’s voice into a spectacle of light in the trees above them. Are you ready to step up to the mic and into your spotlight?

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

This nostalgic game harks back to the days of brick phones that never die and hours spent watching a line extend across a screen.  

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

Be quick to chase away the giant, illuminated spiders as quickly as possible! 8 squares of light are your weapon of choice in this game of speed and precision.

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

Ready to trick your opponent and use your memory to lead you to victory? In Templar, create light and sound combinations that trip up your adversary and remember theirs exactly to win.

This project is generously supported by the Consulat de France

Ever felt like you’re being watched? With The Eyes, you actually are…
A commentary on drifting attention spans in an increasingly digital world, this 8-metre-high colossal inflatable structure made of dozens of technicolour eyeballs from international art collective CoolShit can be found on the lawns of Lot Fourteen…and yes, they’ll be watching to make sure you’re there.

From the gallery to the kitchen to the screen, Poh’s work has captivated audiences around the country. Now the celebrated artist, cook, and storyteller is turning her talents to her biggest canvas yet: Adelaide’s iconic East End. In a new site-specific work, City Lights will transform this much-loved corner of Adelaide into an extension of Poh’s creative world in collaboration with The Electric Canvas.

After exploring her work throughout Adelaide's East End, head to The Light Room, Light ADL to see an exhibition from celebrated artist, cook, and television personality Poh. Featuring new works and a print retrospective, this exhibition is a rare opportunity to see work from one of Australia's most beloved artists up close.

Reimagined for City Lights, in collaboration with The Electric Canvas, Angela Tiatia’s major work The Pearl conjures a speculative world to recast the idea of the Pacific. Described as a digital tapa or barkcloth, The Pearl sits in dialogue with the work of Henri Matisse, recreating the myth of Venus and aligning it with that of Pacific creator-god Ta'aroa.

The gramophone well and truly enters the 21st century with Trumpet Flowers, an interactive music and light experience from Amigo & Amigo. Shaped like the antique music players of old, make your own floral symphony using the keys under the bright, towering flowers - or enjoy one of the animated musical scores by Otis Studios and Carlos Arango throughout the day and evening. 

Presented by Rundle Mall x AEDA x Illuminate Adelaide powered by RAA.

Presenting Partner

Women have long been associated with the Moon, although no woman has ever walked on it. In mythology the Moon is commonly represented as female, and both have endured narratives of conquest throughout history. Reworking this narrative with a female protagonist, Ursula Lassos the Moon was commissioned as a response to the tale of an heiress who filled a park in England with dazzling inventions in 1905, which was a time when reaching the Moon was the stuff of science fiction.

Celebrating the upcoming 2023 federal referendum to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the constitution through a First Nations Voice to Parliament, Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute will light up with the Yes Campaign artwork, created by Birra Gubbi artist Lara Watson.