BIG CITY LIGHTS* Festival

7-10 July 2022 View all events

A festival of light, design, installation and live performance

Explore Big City Lights*

Witness the creative genius that is IKONIX as they wrap an entire building in...

Free Event

QUANTUM

7-10 July, Nerang StreetPROJECTIONVisual Art

Let us in on a secret, what do you fear the most? It’s a...

Free Event

FEAR EATS THE SOUL

7-10 July, Nerang StreetInstallationVisual Art

Immerse yourself in a real life game of hide seek with this magical installation....

Free Event

BUG HUNT

7-10 July, Young StreetFamilyINTERACTIVEPROJECTIONVisual Art

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Share your journey here @bigcitylightsgoldcoast

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Jul 4

Open

And we’re only 3 days away!
Here’s another sneak peek, this time of Lilium - a work by @peter_thiedeke , Andrew R. Brown and John Ferguson.

Learn more about this cinematic mural on our website!

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Jul 2

Open

We don’t want to spoil any surprises but here’s a sneak peek of Iridescence!

This is work is a collaboration between @ikonix_aus - light installation artists - and @lorikeetsinlove - sound artist.

Join us in this glowing version of Davison Lane next Thursday 💜

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Jun 30

Open

Only 1 week to go or 7 days or 168 hours! However you put it, BIG CITY LIGHTS* is going to light up Southport on 7-10 July. We can’t wait to show you all the incredible works that make up this shiny new festival 💜🖤

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Jun 28

Open

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Jun 27

Open

LAST LIGHT by @joey.pepperoni_ , presented by @lastnighton_earth

LAST LIGHT is a curated night of music created to accompany BIG CITY LIGHTS* during its 4 nights. And, on Sunday, @lastnighton_earth are even opening their doors specially for us 💜

LAST LIGHT explores the reversal of digital advancement upon reaching its peak, returning more of our interactions back to physical experiences provided by analog technologies, that a purely digital world has deprived from us. Through our physical movements and surrounding sound, a remanence of our digitalised selves consumed by technology is reflected back to us in real-time.

A vibrant line-up of artists will also be featured to curate the venue’s soundtrack of sonic exploration over the four nights: @ola.jarosz @tayllorwiillson @moliver____ @newyork.muscle @buff.girls @houseof.felix @modem_island @passion_fingers_ @djtopdown @sosasoundanddesign

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Jun 24

Open

2055 by @jln.reisinger

This thought-provoking video projection explores the tension between the future of the digital metaverse and our real world – the one in which climate change poses a very real threat. The installation gives viewers a preview of what the world could look like in the year 2055 – five years after humanity failed to comply with the Paris Agreement. While this fictional universe can be rebooted again and again – the real world cannot. Prepare for goosebumps.

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Jun 21

Open

Closing Night Party by @tinymindsagency on Sunday 10 July.

You’re invited to the Gold Coast’s coolest party as we close out BIG CITY LIGHTS* with a celebration of local music and achingly cool talent.

Let the good vibes wash over you as four incredible acts – @donnylove69 , @greatsage.earth , @perve_endings , @echowaveband , @vicesdj – take to the stage at @vinniesdive to serenade you into the night.

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Jun 20

Open

Lilium bu @peter_thiedeke , Andrew Brown and John Ferguson.

This cinematic mural re-imagines urban regeneration and invites citizens into a supernatural world inhabited by playful and energetic free-spirits that give themselves over to a beautiful place of hybrid species. Perceptions of time, space and gravity are ruptured. Disparate temporalities are displaced. Life re-incarnates. Experience these looping visuals in a new way in each instance with a constantly changing soundscape as the audience, music, machines, traffic, and the resonant surfaces of buildings all come together as a chaotic symphony.

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Jun 19

Open

Lover by @amos_gebhardt

Powerful and thought provoking you’ll be mesmerised by Amos Gebhardt’s enchanting video, Lovers. You’ll be glued to the spot as you take in the striking, black and white video loop that delves into the drama of powerful thoroughbred horses, performing a courting ritual of peek-between-your-fingers intimacy.

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Jun 19

Open

Thunderhead by @tinahstevenski

Let the goosebumps wash over you as you’re transported to Highway 54 in Texas, your eyes fixated on a natural supercell phenomenon that loops eerily close to you, spinning through a lonely, open landscape. The recording – which is equal measures mesmerising and terrifying, was captured by artist, musician and filmmaker Tina Havelock Stevens during her travels. Anchoring the footage is a haunting live soundtrack, spontaneously composed and performed by acclaimed drummer Havelock Stevens and electric guitarist Liberty. Lose yourself, and sink into this emotive sensory journey which speaks to not only the environment and evolving weather patterns, but to our fragile human existence.

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Jun 18

Open

Big City Eyes by @kirstenbaade

Ever feel like you’re being watched? If you find yourself wandering down Davison Lane during BIG CITY LIGHTS*, you probably are. Originally commissioned for BIGSOUND Music Festival, all eyes will be on you as Kirsten Baade’s wall of neon eyes peer out at passers by, watching your every move. Playful and cartoonish in style, some will blink, some will wink – how long can you maintain eye contact?

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Jun 17

Open

Belatone by @lorikeetsinlove

Belatone is a dive down a sonic memory hole that brings together psychedelic festivals and swamp sounds. This work hints at a more-than-human way of listening and looks beyond our normal sensory regimes, taking the sounds of 90s psy-trance and updating them with new techniques like AI to generate the library of sounds that are mixed together with field recordings and vocals.

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We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Yugambeh Language Region and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People of the Gold Coast.

We recognise their continuing connection and contributions to country and culture.

We pay respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

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7-10 July

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7-10 July

7-10 July

A festival of light, design, installation and live performance

QUANTUM

FEAR EATS THE SOUL

BUG HUNT

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