TICKETS SELLING FAST TO HIGHLIGHT EVENTS FOR LARGEST VIVID IDEAS YET:

Game-Changers Talk Series: Spike Jonze, Jenji Kohan,

Beau Willimon and Margaret Zhang;

Robowars presents 'Deathroll', the 150kg crocodile robot in Australia for first time;

First Women in Electronic Music Symposium in Sydney;

Make Nice: A new un-conference for creative women;

Good Design Awards on display to the public in major new exhibition;

Rare Birds Con 2016: celebrating female entrepreneurs and business success stories

2016 full Vivid Ideas Guide can be downloaded here

Vivid Ideas today announced the ten day countdown until the start of its largest program ever staged. The dynamic 2016 Vivid Ideas program boasts more than 180 events and over 400 speakers, spanning 50 venues. Vivid Ideas brings to Sydney a world class line-up of influencers from across the creative industries, including the arts, design, technology, media, and innovation sectors. Showcasing Sydney at its cutting-edge best, it shines a spotlight on global success stories and sparks important debates on the business of creativity, as part of Vivid Sydney, the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas.

Organisers also today reminded Sydneysiders that tickets are selling quickly for the Vivid Ideas highlights talks, the Game-Changers Series; featuring legendary filmmaker Spike Jonze; House of Cards creator Beau Willimon, Orange is the New Black writer and creator Jenji Kohan, and Australian global fashion influencer and master of native content, Margaret Zhang.  This series provides rare, behind-the-scenes insights into the creative workings of these cutting-edge cultural icons at the height of their industries. 

WEEKLY BREAKDOWN OF VIVID IDEAS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

MONDAY 23 MAY TO SUNDAY 29 MAY

BEAU WILLIMON (USA)
28 May

Screenwriter and producer Beau Willimon created House of Cards, one of the most highly-acclaimed streaming series on screen today. Willimon offers insights into crafting drama, sharing his approach to collaboration, and explaining the business behind producing quality content.

MARGARET ZHANG (AUS)
28 May

Margaret Zhang is one of Australia's most influential new creatives. She has built a global fanbase for her work as a stylist, photographer, and creative director. On stage at Vivid Ideas, Margaret shares the journey of her career to this point, explains her approaches to collaborations and working with brands.

GOOD DESIGN FESTIVAL
27-29 May

Celebrating cutting-edge design and innovation, the 2016 Good Design Festival showcases the very best of design in Australia. For the first time ever, contenders for the prestigious Good Design Awards will be on display to the general public. See the latest innovations in product design, architectural design, digital design, communication design, service design and breakthroughs in social innovation and business design.

SEMI PERMANENT
26-28 May

Semi Permanent is a unique, live experience that brings together internationally renowned artists and creative icons to explore the power and future of design. Through a series of talks, panel discussions, exhibitions, workshops, installations and events, Semi Permanent is an opportunity to connect and collaborate. It is a hands-on, immersive experience that opens the doors to new relationships and new ways of thinking.

FAILURE:LAB SYDNEY

28 May

Six creative professionals each share a story of failure, joining Failure:Lab's global mission to eliminate the fear, stigma, and isolation around failure which, in turn, helps remove roadblocks to communication and innovation.

CREATIVE THINKING AND INVENTING

28 May (for kids) + 1 June (for adults) 

Creative Thinking and Inventing is a fun, fast paced, activity-based design challenge that will teach the basic principles of design thinking. Facilitators introduce a series of exercises teaching children how to gain empathy, define problems, think creatively and test out potential solutions. By learning the basic principles of design thinking, everyone walks away thinking about how they might address a problem differently next time.

MONDAY 30 MAY TO SUNDAY 5 JUNE

THE SUNRISE 2016: Australia's Most Successful Founders Tell Their Stories
30 May

Driven by Australia's startup success, The Sunrise delves deeper into the future of technology, business and fostering an innovative startup ecosystem. It brings together a host of Australia's most successful founders sharing the lessons and stories of how their companies were born and scaled.

FERRARI DESIGN DIRECTOR, FLAVIO MANZONI: THE FUTURE OF DESIGN

30 May

Ferrari's Senior Vice President of Design, Flavio Manzoni, will address the integral role design has played in the longevity and power of this global brand's ongoing success and identity. Explore how Ferrari has arrived at their signature combination of classic lines and futuristic modernity, fusing design and high-performance function that have driven Ferrari to become one of the most powerful brands in the world.

CONNECTING OUR CITY: INTRODUCING THE URBAN PINBOARD

1 June

Cities are changing fast and the most significant catalyst for this change is growth. The Urban Development Institute of Australia is exploring ways to make our cities more liveable, affordable and connected. At this event, you will hear from property development industry experts and explore what makes a Connected City, including a discussion on the latest development industry innovations and trends.

THE MODERN CREATIVE LEADER

1 June

What do we instinctively value when we first picture a leader? How do these qualities stack up with what is needed of a leader today? Part panel, part workshop this event is designed to develop a universally agreed definition and image that uncovers the qualities of a modern day leader.

MEDIA ARCHITECTURE BIENNALE 2016
1 - 4 June

In Sydney for the very first time, the Media Architecture Biennale will bring together cutting-edge artists, civic leaders and academics to explore how technology and digital media can lead to more exciting, liveable city environments. The four-day event includes a conference, series of exhibitions, symposia, workshops and an award ceremony.

MAKE NICE
2-4 June

The first of its kind in Australia, Make Nice is an event for, by and about creative women, with an exclusive line-up of international and home-grown industry luminaries in an intimate un-conference format. Make Nice is about sharing knowledge between pioneering creative women during round-table discussions, and forming genuine relationships with other attendees during programmed social events.

REMIX SYDNEY 2016 SUMMIT: CULTURE, TECHNOLOGY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP
2-3 June

Be inspired by 75+ creative pioneers over two days exploring the future of culture, cities and the creative economy. Discover the latest trends at the intersection of culture, tech and entrepreneurship and meet potential collaborators across a diverse range of talks, panels, masterclasses, workshops and networking receptions.

DO GOOD, BE GOOD CONFERENCE/KEYNOTE
3 June

Can art do good and be good? Are artistic excellence and social impact mutually exclusive ends? Explore these ideas with artist Steve Lambert (USA), and Natalie Jerimijenko (Australian born, USA based) alongside academics, cultural programmers, activists and artists focused on strategies for social change.

FACTORY DESIGN DISTRICT

3-5 June 

Discover the hidden world of Australia's urban manufacturing renaissance. Presented as an exhibition with demonstrations and talks, Factory Design District is focused on the creation story from design to realisation. Across three days, get involved in your local industry, purchase a unique design piece or collaborate to create something original for your next project. 

CREATING CUT-THROUGH CONTENT: MEDIA MINDS SHARE THEIR STRATEGIES 

3-5 June 

The average person consumes more than 10,000 pieces of digital content per day. With every brand out there becoming a publisher, how can you create content that cuts through the noise? Learn from the editors an dpublishers behind popular publications including Goergia Frances King (Editor, Kinfolk Magazine), Nick Shelton (Founder, Broadsheet) and Joanne Gray (Editor, Australian Financial Review's BOSS Magazine). 

ETSY SYDNEY MADE MARKET

4 June

Celebrate all things handmade and meet local crafters, collectors, artisans and designers from etsy.com at the Etsy Sydney Made Market. Evoke your own passion for making and soak up the creative atmosphere.

ART IS OUR ARTILLERY TO DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS
June 4

Capturing attention in an electronic world is increasingly difficult. We are flooded with information and reports. As social change makers we need to challenge people's apathy and encourage them to take action on the things that matter. Arts activism sheds light on the dark side of humanity and inspires Australians to take action on human rights issues. Join Amnesty International Australia's Indigenous Rights campaigner, Roxanne Moore, who will discuss creative strategies for how to communicate difficult issues for public action.

ROBOWARS
5 June

Robot lovers will be pleased to hear the hugely popular Robowars have announced the Australian premiere rumble by the crocodile 'Deathroll' robot, fresh from the Los Angeles set of the Battlebots TV show.  Weighing in at 150 kilograms, this is a robot not to be messed with. Robowars returns to Vivid Ideas for another epic showdown. Robots big and small, and built by hand from metal, power tools and toy parts, battle it out in this one-day event.

SPIKE JONZE (USA)
5 June

Spike Jonze is a director, producer, writer and photographer. Recognised for his feature films (Her, Adaptation, Being John Malkovich), Jonze's body of work is varied, including music videos, commercials, television and theatre. He is the co-creator and producer of the Jackass television shows and films, and currently is Co-President of Vice's new TV channel, Viceland.

MONDAY 6 JUNE TO SUNDAY 19 JUNE

STORYTELLING IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

6 June

The leading names in social, games, search and consumer tech are all driving the renaissance of virtual reality (VR). Can we get VR's second coming right this time? It's a medium that still holds decades of problems for storytellers, so what have we learnt and what can we work on to define interactive storytelling in this new medium? A series of short talks will be presented by industry veterans and new pioneers on their insights into the challenges of VR.

SYDNEY FILM FSTIVAL
8-19 June

With its full program announced in Sydney on 12 May, the Sydney Film Festival is one of the longest running film festivals in the world, and is a major event on the New South Wales cultural calendar. Each year the festival brings the best new films from around the world to audiences right here in Sydney. The 63rd Sydney Film Festival runs from Wednesday 8-Sunday 19 June 2016, with 300+ screenings of 180+ films from 50+ countries, talks, Q&As, parties, red carpets, special events and more.

RARE BIRDS CON 2016

8-9 June

Join some of the world's leading women entrepreneurs and influential business experts at Rare Birds Con 2016: Australian Entrepreneurs Doing Business With The World. Be inspired by empowering keynotes, workshops and panel discussions about how women are doing business globally.

JENJI KOHAN (USA)
10 June

Writer and show creator Jenji Kohan creates unforgettable, complex and diverse characters and stories: the stunning success of Orange Is The New Black, now entering its fourth season, is proof of that. Kohan comes to Sydney to share with us her creative approach to storytelling, and adapting to new models of television.

CLIPPED: MUSIC VIDEO FESTIVAL

10-13 June 

CLIPPED is Australia's new premier music video festival, pioneering a fresh event format that includes the screening of high-calibre music videos, an award ceremony, and live performances. CLIPPED will also host discussion panels featuring a line-up of acclaimed directors, including the prolific Nigel Dick, who has created more than 500 music videos for artists from Oasis to Britney Spears.

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF CREATIVE, ENTREPRENEURIAL AND DIGITAL WOMEN

11 June

Less than a quarter of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians are women - and yet jobs that require these skills are the fastest growing and amongst the most highly paid. Hear from a panel of experts, teachers, industry leaders and girls themselves, about what is stopping girls from embracing STE(A)M and how we can help to inspire the next generation of young women to become innovators and entrepreneurs.

LUMIFOLD: FOLD YOUR OWN PAPER LAMP

11 June
Make a stunning lamp using the Origami Sekkei technique: mathematical paper folding. Experience the feeling of wonderment as your flat piece of paper transforms into a beautiful and structurally sound three dimensional object and explore the way mathematical patterns allow this to occur.

AACTA PRESENTS: DIRECTING THE 'DRESSMAKER': IN CONVERSATION WITH JOCELYN MOORHOUSE

16 June

Presented by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA), this is a special In Conversation event with acclaimed director of The Dressmaker, Jocelyn Moorhouse. In 30 years as writer-producer-director, Moorhouse has worked with many of the biggest names in film from Kate Winslet to Winona Ryder, Hugo Weaving to Colin Firth. Moorhouse will share her experiences of directing all-star casts and creating Australian masterpieces including The Dressmaker (5 AACTA Awards) and Proof (6 AFI Awards).

WOMEN IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC SYMPOSIUM AND SHOWCASE

18 June

Vivid Ideas will host the first ever Women in Electronic Music Symposium on Saturday 18 June, followed by a showcase of Women in Electronic Music, co-presented by FBi. Presented by MusicNSW, it will bring together some of this generation's trailblazing female dance music artists, DJs and emerging producers for Australia's very first Women in Electronic Music Symposium. Aimed at supporting, inspiring and promoting the brightest female artists in electronic music, this Sydney-exclusive will include a three-day masterclass series, debate panel and a one-night-only showcase of female talent at the Vivid Ideas Exchange.

CODE IN THE PARK

18 June

Yahoo7 and General Assembly will present one of the largest learning events ever Code in the Park staged in Sydney, promising an introduction to coding for all ages and abilities. The event is designed to transform thinkers of today into creators of tomorrow. Expect an afternoon of inspirational digital speakers and interactive demonstrations by Australia's tech innovators.

Running 27 May to 18 June, Vivid Ideas is part of Vivid Sydney, the world's largest festival of light, music and ideas. Speakers and subjects span the creative industries including technology, start-up smarts, film, storytelling, design, architecture, visual arts and communication. At Vivid Ideas, makers, thinkers, pioneers and businesses come together for professional development, updates on relevant industries, market opportunities and world class innovation.  The program builds engagement between the creative industries and the broader economy, exploring trends, movements and opportunities that shape society and business globally.

Vivid Sydney is owned, managed and produced by the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW. For more information about Vivid Ideas, visit http://www.vividsydney.com/ideas

The full Vivid Sydney media kit, 2016 program announcement video content, and high-res imagery, including 2016 Vivid Sydney light renders and footage of 2015 festival highlights, is available here: www.vividsydney.com/media-centre

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

Gabrielle Wilson, The Press Society, M: 0433 972 915, E: gabrielle@thepresssociety.com.au