Australia

5 things you need to see at Illuminate Adelaide

Winter nights are for Illuminate Adelaide.

Up there with the likes of Vivid in Sydney and Melbourne’s Lightscape, Illuminate isn’t just a snack for the senses, it’s a whole damn feast. From the colourful lights and interactive displays littered along North Terrace to the meticulously designed multi-sensory exhibits dotted around the city’s CBD, this is one innovative spectacle you’ll want to stay out late for.

Illuminate Adelaide will warm you up and ignite your imagination; perfect for solo adventurers and couples wanting to spice up date night.

This weekend is your last chance to see the lights - skip the research and read on for our top 5:

1. Fire Gardens

The whole installation gives off major tribal council vibes, so much so that you’ll probably be looking around for Jeff Probst before you’ve even walked through the entrance’s flaming archways. You won’t find him, but you will find around 7,000 giant handcrafted fire pots scattered throughout the Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

They’re everywhere; between the trees, in the middle of lakes, lighting up walkways and coming out of fountains. You can’t wander to one fiery sculpture without spotting several others, encouraging the imagination to run wild with thoughts of celebratory sacrifices and cult initiations – only aided by the ritualistic soundtrack reverberating through the park.

Once the sun sets, these pots are lit up by a team wearing top hats, and while they outnumber humans 456 to 1 (big guesstimation), it only takes around 10 minutes. And they never seem to go out, even in windy or wet conditions. Utter magic.

YOU’RE ON FIRE

2. City Lights

If you’re looking to get more bang for your buck, do it at City Lights. One, because it’s free, and two, because it’s so freaking cool. Gathering a collection of works by both local and international artists and spreading them into some of Adelaide's most iconic institutions and in places you’d never think to look, City Lights is full of interactive surprises and hilarious projections.

Like the AI-generated sing-along you’ll find on the Art Gallery of South Australia’s exterior. Taking faces from portraits found inside the Reimagining the Renaissance exhibit and turning them into a choir who sing pop hits and Aussie favourites, this projection makes living in 1599 look fun. And they didn’t even have proper sewerage systems back then.

Then there’s a set of swings that emit a musical sound whenever someone launches themselves into the air on them. If your mates all get on a swing at the same time, it creates the perfect harmony, like some sort of giant xylophone. Each swing also has a colour so that the whole installation looks like the emotions from Inside Out. Who wants to be Sadness?

IT’S LIT

3. Eden

The most beautiful garden you’ve ever seen goes digital at EDEN.

Spanning 150 square metres of LED screens, a garden comes to life at your fingertips and takes you on a journey of growth, curiosity and movement. Watch as the seed you plant gets bigger, transforming into a lush landscape full of colourful flowers, buzzing insects and trickling water.

Move things around, raise plants from the ground and spread light through the garden as everything blooms around you – think pandora on steroids.  Perfectly blending the beauty of nature with the creativity of technology, this interactive experience is one you don’t want to miss.

LET’S G(R)O(W)

4. Live @ The Lab

Step into the future at Live @ The Lab where light and sound smash into each other in a series of immersive musical events. Technology, experimentation and a commanding performance from a curated selection of eccentric local and national talents all roll into one in what is guaranteed to be a massive, mind-blowing experience.

But make no mistake, this isn’t the exhibit for a little dignified conversation. The whole time you’re there you’ll be fighting to hear your own thoughts let alone make out what your partner’s trying to say next to you.

Instead of talking about the weather, immerse yourself in the hypnotic rhythm, movement and sound coming from the performer, while also paying attention to the powerful visuals coming out of 50sqm of LED screens. If acid was an arts exhibit, it would be this one.

LIVE, LAUGH, LAB

5. Base Camp

And after all that, you’re bound to be starving.

Luckily, the masterminds behind Illuminate Adelaide figured you would be and created a pop-up village of food trucks, cocktail gardens and live entertainment for you to enjoy pre and post festival activities.

Tuck into a German currywurst sausage from Batlic Fine Foods or smash a chilli cheeseburger from Gang Gang before finishing off with something a little sweeter, some good ol’ hot cinnamon doughnuts from Donut Diner. In need of a refreshment? Head over to Cocktail Bar for a gin & tonic from 23^rd Street Distillery or quench your thirst with a beer from Bowden Brewing.

Once all that food and drink is sloshing around your stomach, dance it out to the beats from local DJs including Late Night Lenny and Research Project. Winter blues cured.

GET BACK TO BASE