The winter holidays can be a blessing and a stress for families, but this year’s Illuminate Adelaide program promises to fill up the calendar with activities loved by both kids and adults.

Winter school holidays have always been a particular challenge in Adelaide – a time when the city historically went into hibernation until September.

In 2021, Illuminate Adelaide came along and changed that, providing a vast array of things to do when the sky is a little darker, the weather colder.

This year is no exception, and soon the CBD will light up with interactive installations, large-scale artworks and immersive experiences to take Adelaideans to another world.

Mirror Mirror

Montreal-based multimedia studio Moment Factory – the brains behind previous Illuminate Adelaide hit Light Cycles – will present not one, but two new immersive experiences throughout July: Mirror Mirror and Resonate.

A multi-room art installation, Mirror Mirror uses immersive digital technology to create six interactive artworks to explore and get lost in. Moment Factory’s creative director Marie Belzil says inviting guests to leave everyday life behind for a while and let their imagination run wild, while creating an infectious sense of play and fun was essential.

“Creating Mirror Mirror, we tapped into the beauty and mystery of the human mind, as well as our in-house technical creative expertise, to express our artistic vision,’’ she says.

“We are looking forward to inviting visitors into our world.”

Resonate

World premiere event Resonate also takes over the Adelaide Botanic Garden, with Moment Factory again using everything they’ve learned about this iconic Adelaide space to create original installations that highlight the beauty of key sites within.

“We received such a warm welcome with Light Cycles, and we are looking forward to sharing Resonate,” says Moment Factory creative director Gabriel Pontbriand.

“This new experience is heavily inspired by our human capacity for emotional and physical resonance with the environment.’’

Arborialis

Just a hop, skip and a jump away from Resonate, the latest inflatable luminarium from UK-based Architects of Air – Arborialis – will brighten Rymill Park/Murlawirrapurka in the studio’s latest visit to Australian shores.

A blow-up maze filled with light and sound, Arborialis is inspired by the great forests of the world, with music taken directly from sounds in the Amazon.

Illuminate Adelaide co-creative directors Rachael Azzopardi and Lee Cumberlidge say they are excited to bring something so inclusive and creative to Adelaide.

“To have Adelaide exclusively host this super-sensory installation is a shining example of Illuminate Adelaide’s mission to champion the works of visionary creatives everywhere.”

City Lights

School holiday outings can be pricey for families – but if you’re looking for something free and fun to enjoy, City Lights is the event for you.

Featuring over 40 installations to discover across the city, the 2023 program spans interactive games, projection artworks, video documentaries and augmented reality.

Much-loved artist, cook and television personality Poh Ling Yeow will be a big part of City Lights this year, with the East End devoted to her series of paintings The Girl that chronicle her family’s migrant journey to Australia.

Into The Light

Poh will also feature as one of the trailblazing South Australian women celebrated in a new projection work Into The Light, which sees Government House throw open its gates to the public for all 17 nights of City Lights.

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, politics and social impact – revealing a rich tapestry which re-imagines our state’s history and lights up the way forward.

 

We could go on! But put simply, the days of spending winter school holidays by the TV are gone. It’s time to rug up and head out into the lights across town for Illuminate Adelaide.

Illuminate Adelaide shines a light on art, light, music and technology from June 28 – July 30.