Lovers of all things creativity and design rejoice as the much loved festival Semi Permanent returns to Sydney as part of Vivid festival from 31 May-2 June. For three days, the festival will bring together talks, discussions, workshops, demonstrations and installations to inspire the minds of Sydney's cultural precinct, Carriageworks. This year's event will mark the 21st year that the festival has been running. This makes it the most prominent and longest running event of its kind in the southern hemisphere.
This year, Semi Permanent has chosen to explore the universal idea of '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,” says Mitchell Oakley Smith, Semi Permanent’s 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.”
What can we expect from this year's 'Semi Permanent' program?
The program will span over many mediums and genres, reflecting creative practice to date. There, you can expect to hear about timely and topical matters as they relate to 2023's context. The topics covered will range from futurism, feminism, First Nations culture, accessibility, sustainability, and diversity, equity, to inclusion.
The lineup this year includes Emmy nominated data journalism, writer and artist Mona Chalabi whose work has been featured in the The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Guardian.
Iranian-American designer and founder of FISK Bijan Berahimi will also speak. Berahimi has an impressive resume having worked with Nike, Toro y Moi, Harvard, Boiler Room, and was the first designer-in-residence at Facebook HQ.
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Over the past 20 years, Semi Permanent has hosted more than 50 events in 13 cities, featuring over 800 speakers and attracting more than 300,000 attendees. This year is shaping up to be standout. You can already find out more about the lineup and buy tickets to Semi Permanent on the website.
