Semi Permanent today announces the return of its festival of creativity and design to its homeplace of Sydney,
set to take place at arts precinct Carriageworks as part of Vivid Sydney 2023.
From 31st May through 2nd June 2023, Semi Permanent will again bring together the creative industries across Asia Pacific for three days of inspiring keynote talks, panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions, demonstrations, installations, and more.
The breadth of this year’s program is reflective of creative practice in 2023, including graphic, product, spatial and motion design, filmmaking, photography, illustration, publishing, writing, advertising, animation, Web3, and visual data.
The program covers futurism, feminism, First Nations culture, accessibility, sustainability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Liam Young is a film director and architect, and founder of the urban futures think tank “Tomorrows Thoughts Today” and the nomadic research studio Unknown Fields. Young’s practice is situated within the fields of design fiction and critical design. His work explores the increasingly blurred boundaries among film, fiction, design, and storytelling, with the goal of prototyping and imagining the future of the city.
Using words, colour, and sound, data journalist, writer, artist, and producer Mona Chalabi rehumanises data to better help us understand our world and the way we live in it. Her writing and illustrations have been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian, where she is currently the data editor, and have earned her a fellowship at the British Science Association, an Emmy nomination, and recognition from the Royal Statistical Society.
Each year, Semi Permanent takes the opportunity to explore a universal idea that most aligns to the challenges and opportunities of the time. For 2023, it introduces the platform ‘REFORMATION’.
“We thought the world would seek to build itself back as it was, but it’s increasingly clear that our collective future cannot—nor should not—look anything like its past,” said Mitchell Oakley Smith, Semi Permanent, global creative director.
“We live amidst a once-in-a-generation chance to write past wrongs, reform seemingly immutable practices, and redesign the world in a shape we’d like to see.”
In 2023, Semi Permanent is supported by the continuing partnership with the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.
Minister, tourism and the arts, Ben Franklin, said: “The NSW Government is proud to support Semi Permanent, which is an established drawcard for creative people from across the country and the world. We welcome the eclectic, boundary pushing thinkers this event inspires, positioning Sydney as a hub of innovation for the creative industries.
“Semi Permanent will provide a dynamic element to the Vivid Sydney 2023 season, contributing to our ambition to make Sydney and NSW the major events capital and premier visitor economy of the Asia Pacific.”
