Following an extremely successful pilot program in 2022, BIG CITY LIGHTS* is back and opens on Friday 21st June, 5.30pm.

The impressive program presented by Experience Gold Coast will feature more than 39 works across more than 40 locations, including Nerang Street, Scarborough Street, Regent Lane, Davenport Street and Davidson Lane in Southport.

The festival is family friendly and free. It will be presented over three weekends from 21 June – 7 July 2024, Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights, 5.30pm till 10pm.

The cutting-edge, self-guided festival features immersive audio-visual experiences, large-scale digital works, 3D-mapping and installations that transform Southport’s laneways and buildings into an outdoor gallery – literally using the building façades as a blank canvas.

BIG CITY LIGHTS* will also feature live music and performances in venues and at outdoor sites across the Gold Coast CBD, adding to the appeal of the free, family-friendly and accessible festival to a wide demographic of locals and drive-market visitors.

The festival features leading local and national artists including Joan Ross, Justene Williams, Judy Watson, Vernon Ah Kee, Erik Griswold, Yuriyal Bridgeman, Lawrence English and Julian Day.

Presented by Experience Gold Coast and supported by the City of Gold Coast and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

ALWAYS THE LAST ONE AT THE PARTY JOAN ROSS
Each evening from 5:30PM
Australia Fair Towers

Covering the surface of Australia Fair Tower, this enormous, animated projection will make you ponder the question – could you imagine a world where colonisers cared about the environment? Combining landscape paintings, colonial images, and elements of western culture, Joan Ross uses her iconic fluorescent ‘high vis’ yellow to symbolise the impact of colonisation, juxtaposed by Aboriginal people’s enduring presence and connection to land.

Bold and experimental, Joan Ross’ practice investigates the legacy of colonialism in Australia with a particular focus on reconfiguring the colonial Australian landscape and drawing attention to the complex and ongoing issues surrounding the effects of globalisation and colonisation.

GREETINGS, PROGRAMS
MICK LUDVIK – EVENT LASERS
Each evening from 5:30PM Southport TAFE Building

Inspired by the ‘80s computer–sci-fi cult film TRON, high-powered lasers combined with the latest laser graphics technology blanket buildings on the skyline, sending webs of electric lines moving along every edge. As daylight fades and darkness covers the city, buildings disappear from sight, reborn as a series of luminous electric pathways.

LIGHT AND BREATH JUSTENE WILLIAMS
Each evening from 5:30PM Hutong Gardens

Be mesmerised by a kaleidoscopic video performance by renowned Australian artist, Justene Williams, who sets the screen ablaze with her signature bold style and elaborate upcycled costumery. Dancers skate through a technicolour room wearing handmade robes, inspired by the colour wheel of master Johannes Itten fame – a teacher expelled for tutoring students in esoteric maztazan breathing exercises. Experience psychedelic colour in motion with this prismatic whirlpool of light and breath.

Born in 1970, Sydney, now living and working in Brisbane, Justene Williams is a key figure of the Australian art scene of the 1990s, working across different media including photography, video, performance, installation and sound. Her early work revolved around photography and utilised the ad hoc nature of disposable cameras and one-hour printing labs. The locations for these early photographic projects were sites of public recreation such as shopping centres, car shows and strip clubs. In recent work she has constructed elaborate sets and costumes made from collaged paper and a variety of waste or refuse materials.

UNDERCOVER WORLDS PROPMILL
Nightly on Nerang Street

A sequence of ground projections along Nerang Street, UNCOVERED WORLDS reveal lively patterns, shapes, hues and shadows in response to viewers moving in and out of the projection areas. As festival goers move within the projection a deeper layer of the abstract landscape is revealed.

PropMill is a leading experiential design consultancy specialising in dynamic, large-scale built environment works in both the public and commercial sphere. The world today requires your attention. Large commercial assets need to change and evolve over increasingly smaller timeframes to order to stay relevant in today’s competitive landscape. PropMill turns static environments into dynamic spaces that communicate context and values, drive user engagement and foster a sense of identity and community.

THE TIDES ADVANCE ON AUSTRALIA FAIR ERIC GRISWOLD
NIGHTLY at 7PM

Using a harmonious blend of music and sound, The Tides Advance transports you to a future where rising sea levels lap at the edges of Australia Fair and the labyrinth of lanes that surround it. Amidst the streets of Southport, waves crash, pulse and surge, the rhythmic cadence transformed into dream- like chords and melodies. With each rise and fall, the music synchronises with the real-time waves at nearby Southport Spit, evoking both the thrill and awe of the ocean. Wander through Southport’s CBD and become enveloped in this sonic embrace.

Erik Griswold is a composer, pianist and sound artist working in contemporary classical, improvised, and experimental forms. For over twenty-five years he has explored the outer limits of the piano, in projects such as Ecstatic Descent (“powerful music that connects with both the natural with the spiritual,” Sequenza 21), The Piano Mill (“densely layered shimmering sonority,” Australian Stage), and 84 Pianos (“joyous and brilliant,” Limelight). Originally from San Diego, and now living in Brisbane, Griswold performs as a soloist and collaborates with diverse musicians, artists, and scientists. He has received the Australia Council Fellowship in Music and several APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards, including “Work of the year: Dramatic (2022).” His music can be heard on record labels ABC Classic, Room40, Mode Records, Cold Blue, Innova, Neuma, Move, Immediata and others. Together with Vanessa Tomlinson, Griswold forms the duo Clocked Out, who create original music for prepared piano, percussion, found objects, and toys.

EVENT DETAILS

Gold Coast CBD

21 JUNE – 7 JULY 2024: Every Friday, Saturday & Sunday nights, 5.30pm till 10pm

View the full program and sign up for exclusive announcements at bigcitylightsfestival.com.au

Free entry!