Tuesday 17 June 2025
As Katy Perry once prophetically sung, “Baby you’re a firework!”. It was her words which resonated and provided the soundtrack throughout the Art trip to Sydney last week as 27 Senior Art students attended the annual Vivid Sydney Light Festival.
It was indeed fireworks, light projections, sound, colour, celebrity connections, film and animation, alongside the delights of the Contemporary Art Gallery and the NSW Art Gallery, which filled the hearts and creative minds of all of us throughout the five days of the trip.
The group flew out to Sydney on Thursday afternoon, arriving eventually at our accommodation in The Rocks area of Sydney around dinner time. The YHA hostel was fantastically situated right in the heart of the old part of Sydney, and from our rooftop, the students were greeted with the most spellbinding vista. The Opera House filled with animations and artworks created by local artists and designers, the Sydney Harbour bridge, adorned with light projections and motion graphics, and much of the city lit up with an array of artworks and light installations. On cue, group leader and Head of Art Jay Pressnell, had arranged with Sydney Council to let off a huge firework display as the students sat down to dinner on the rooftop (it was so perfectly timed, it was almost as though he hadn’t arranged it!). That first night set the tone for the rest of the trip, which proved to be a rollercoaster of experiences and endless walking.
The other main highlights (before we get to the main one!) of the trip centred around the Sydney CBD, Darling Harbour, The Rocks Area, The Botanical Gardens, Martin’s Place and Sydney Town Hall where the Vivid Light trail enabled us to follow a synchronised pathway around the hundreds of light works and animations spread out across the city.
The group went on a Vivid Sydney night cruise which showcased the animations of the city from the water, we walked over the Harbour Bridge to Luna Park where the students chilled out and relaxed on the nerve jangling rides on offer and we finished our last night at the Sydney Town Hall where we watched a performance of Edward Scissorhands as part of an immersive experience with live DJs, light projections, and storytelling with actors dressed up as ghosts and ghouls. Students also went on a ferry over to Manly and responded to the Street Art and creative vibe over there.
On average 20,000 steps were done each day, which meant that we saw everything that Vivid had to offer, we ate well each night, the hot breakfast every morning meant that our students and staff were set up for the day’s escapades and the students were invigorated and creatively stimulated by the artworks on show. Most students were reflecting on how the works impacted on their own assessments, whilst the creative tasks students had to do whilst they were there, meant that they were constantly responding to their experiences.
According to the students (not just Mr Pressnell), the greatest memory and experience centred around a chance meeting with one of the most famous people on the planet. On the flight going over, one particular student who will not be named, being an obsessive Katy Perry fan, mentioned that the diva was currently appearing in concert in Sydney whilst the group were there. In a hopeful manner, the student asked what the chances were of us bumping into her during the trip. “Well, I don’t think she’ll be staying at the YHA, so probably not” came the cynical and quite ruthless response from Mr Pressnell (he was more hopeful of bumping into the Minogue sisters perhaps).
In a moment of numerous stars and ‘fireworks’ aligning, Mr Pressnell was daydreaming on the steps of the Opera House, waiting patiently for the students to return from their daily creative task when Art Teacher and famed celebrity spotter, Mr Joel Tucker saw Ms Perry wandering inconspicuously and alerted Mr Pressnell to her. Mr Tucker immediately went off to alert the students that this once in a lifetime meeting was a definite possibility for them.
Mr Pressnell, displayed the opposite sentiment, dismissing his role as group leader, handing off small children and innocent tourists to grab HIS opportunity to have a selfie with the singer. Initially the bodyguards waved away his plea for a photo, but fortunately for Mr Pressnell, Katy (as he refers to her now) came over, grabbed his phone, put a steadying arm around him and took 4/5 quick photos. After this fleeting connection and as Katy walked off into the crowds, the students rushed over unfortunately too late and found Mr Pressnell standing with a stance of celebration and maximum glee.
So Vivid Sydney 2025 will be remembered for lots of different reasons, the students and staff had a fantastic time experiencing all that Vivid Sydney had to offer, it gave them a further opportunity to experience creativity beyond the classroom and to enhance the rich course content they work on in class each day. It would have been easy to fill this trip overview with Katy Perry puns and hidden song lyrics, but Mr Pressnell was worried that it would all come across as just about him, and that’s not the type of committed educator and human being he is.
A huge thank you to the Art Department team (especially Mr David Parr, Mr Joel Tucker and Miss Ashleigh King) for their utmost planning, professionalism, sense of adventure and creative curiosity on the trip.
Nga mihi nui Vivid Sydney!!!