Vivid LIVE 2011
Vivid LIVE has grown into one of Australia’s most respected curated music festivals. From 27 May to 5 June we proudly presented over 30 events and 8 Australian premieres as part of Vivid Sydney, the annual festival of light, music and ideas that celebrates Sydney as a leader in the creative and cultural industries, with the House at the centre.
The curator of Vivid LIVE 2011 – Stephen ‘Pav’ Pavlovic – founded the hugely successful Sydney-based record label, touring company and international brand, Modular. The courage, style and keen ear that has seen him develop Modular into an international commercial success, delivered our most successful festival to date, with record numbers for attendance, website visits and interstate/international participation.
In only its third year, the fantastic 2011 program ranged from an 81-year-old master of his art - jazz saxophonist and music legend Sonny Rollins - to a band formed just last year, WU LYF. Also included in the line-up were one-of-a-kind concerts by legendary international musicians, electronic duos and indie darlings as well as club nights, a daily radio show, audio-visual performances, art installations and even cult children's entertainment. Artists included The Cure, Bat For Lashes, Architecture in Helsinki, Cut Copy, The Crystal Ark and Yo Gabba Gabba, to name but a few.
This diverse selection of performers brought together to perform under the sails illustrates the great breadth of programming we aim to achieve at the House, not only during Vivid LIVE, but throughout the year. With tickets starting from only $20, Vivid LIVE also demonstrated our commitment to present performances that are accessible to all.
We were also keen to make the festival available to those unable to come to the House itself. They could alternatively engage with the festival via the daily radio show - hosted by 2ManyDJs and guests - live on Triple J, as well as participate in various social media streams as we embraced Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs and video blogs. In addition, a unique festival iPhone application was launched the day before the festival began (26 May) and enabled users to:
• Watch the live stream of the Lighting of The Sails
• Listen to an audio stream of a specially-composed soundtrack
• Utilise Monster Snaps - a feature which enabled users to take a photo with the Vivid LIVE Monster
Creative and then share the results with friends on Facebook
• Take part in competitions
• View the calendar of events and festival planner
• View and participate in the Twitter stream
These alternate avenues of involvement took the festival - and the House - beyond Bennelong Point, sharing the festival and our experience with people all over Australia and the world. It enabled us to continue to engage with our mission to deliver incredible art forms to people, wherever they may be.
Some interesting facts from the festival:
• 59% of all ticket buyers were new audience members to the House
• 11% tickets were sold to interstate or international patrons
• 1,982 attendees came from regional NSW
• There were 52,750 YouTube and 8,611 iPhone App live streamed views for the Lighting of The
Sails
• We hosted our first Vivid LIVE school workshop with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and talented
students from Canterbury Boys' High School
We hope you were able to take part in the 2011 Vivid LIVE festival in some way. Ongoing support from our donors contributes to the growth of this annual festival, helping us to attract more local and international talent. In turn, we can then take them beyond Bennelong Point and share their work with a wider audience.
We look forward with huge anticipation to what the 2012 festival may bring!