Semi Permanent Sydney 2022
25 — 27 May 2022
Creativity and design festival Semi Permanent will return to our hometown of Sydney this May 25th-27th 2022, celebrating two decades since our launch. Taking place at arts precinct Carriageworks as part of Vivid Sydney 2022, we’re excited to present our biggest, most dynamic program to date, coupled with an enhanced visitor experience of workshops, panel discussions, performances and installations.
“Twenty years ago, we had this sense that as things increasingly moved online that the value of shared in-person experiences would become even greater, and though we’ve really embraced digital events, these past few years of separation have again made us yearn to be together in a room — listening, learning, sharing ideas,” says Murray Bell, the founder and executive creative director of Semi Permanent. “For our 20th anniversary, it feels right to be returning to our home of Sydney and to have a program that reflects the breadth, scope and excitement of the creative and design industries today.” The talent lineup for the Sydney 2022 event brings together a diverse mix of visionary talent in creativity, technology, and design. Each year, Semi Permanent takes the opportunity to explore a universal idea that most aligns to the challenges and opportunities of the time. For 2022, the festival’s 20th anniversary, it introduces the platform ‘PERSPECTIVE’. “2022 is a demarcation in the evolution of both our purpose and our organisation,” says Murray Bell. “A milestone like this triggers a moment of reflection, imploring us to look back on our achievements and mistakes as the things that helped shape where we are today. It begs us to look forward, too, challenging us to think about where we might be in another 20 years’ time. And after two years in which our lives were disrupted by the pandemic, so too have perspectives on the future completely shifted.” Fittingly, the year marks the 50th anniversary of art critic John Berger’s seminal television series and essay, Ways of Seeing, which exposed the hidden ideologies that exist in visual images, arming generations since with the tools to understand and dissect imagery. At a time when traditional binaries are being dismantled – whether sexual, political, cultural or creative – the year ahead seems a timely moment to reassess the lens that we place on our past, present and future, and to make room for new and varied perspectives.
Highlights
Speakers & Artists
Schedule (Local Times)
9:00 AM
PERMANENT Art Book Fair
9:00 AM
Doors Open
Cohab Coffee, Premium Ticketholder Lounge, PERMANENT Art Book Fair, ANLF Light Projection, Installations, Experiences & More
10:00 AM
Opening Titles & Welcome
PJ Richardson, co-founder of design and animation studio Laundry, presents our opening titles.
10:10 AM
Talk
Dave Hartmann – Special Group
On the value in searching for left-of-centre perspectives that can then be applied to the many.
10:50 AM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Ken Leung
Following his return to Australia, the globally acclaimed creative director will share his process and highlights of his recent projects.
11:30 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
James J. Robinson
Finding beauty and meaning in light and darkness.
1:00 PM
Panel ∙ 2 hours 20 minutes
Rare with Google: Designing Leadership
Join Rare with Google, hosted by Shantel Wetherall, on the main stage as Aries Moross, We Are Warriors, and Royce Akers offer real-time case studies of inclusive work practices in action—from c-suite to entry-level—all future-proofed and ready to roll.
4:20 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Clemens Habicht
The cross-disciplinary creative talks about his installation on display at Semi Permanent, as well as his approach to film, and object and graphic design.
5:00 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Campbell Walker (Struthless) & Bryce Mills
God is Dead: A deep dive into the worst content on the internet (and what it means for humanity).
6:00 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Richard Christiansen – Flamingo Estate
Building a health and lifestyle business by drawing on decades of experience in creative branding.
6:40 PM
Talk ∙ 1 hour
Aries Moross
The British illustrator, art director and designer on their continuing creative ascent.
7:30 PM
Ticket Holders Only ∙ 2 hours 30 minutes
Opening Night Party
Cohab Bar and DJ performance by Barney Kato.
9:00 AM
Doors Open
Cohab Coffee, Premium Ticketholder Lounge, Installations, Experiences & More
12:00 PM
PERMANENT Art Book Fair
9:50 AM
Opening Titles & Welcome
PJ Richardson, co-founder of design and animation studio Laundry, presents our opening titles.
10:00 AM
Panel ∙ 2 hours
Future State: City Utopia, presented by Audi, featuring Damon Gameau, Yvonne Weldon, Chris Fox & Barrie Barton
A discussion to devise a blueprint for our urban centres of the future.
1:00 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Sam Elsom – Sea Forest
Applying creativity to science to cultivate a natural solution to climate change.
1:30 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Hannah Tribe – Tribe Studio Architects
One of the most recognised architects working in Australia today delves into how our spaces impact and shape the way we live, work and spend our lives.
2:00 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Paul Cournet – Cloud
Journeying from Rotterdam, the architect will discuss the thought-process of his most powerful projects.
2:30 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Mridula Amin
Uncovering the story behind the story with the Walkley Award-winning photojournalist.
4:00 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Sabine Marcelis
The Dutch industrial designer discusses her unconventional approach to objects.
4:40 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Balarinji
As it approaches 40 years, Indigenous creative agency Balarinji discusses the future of ancient culture in contemporary design.
5:50 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Ta-ku
An Australian polymath — musician, photographer, creative director — discusses the creative freedom in working across multiple forms ahead of his new EP release.
6:30 PM
Talk ∙ 1 hour
Karen Elson
The British singer-songwriter, supermodel and activist will discuss her career, creative process, and recent and upcoming projects.
5:20 PM
Performance ∙ 3 hours 40 minutes
Sham DJs
9:00 AM
Doors Open
Cohab Coffee, Premium Ticketholder Lounge, Installations, Experiences & More
12:00 PM
PERMANENT Art Book Fair
9:40 AM
Opening Titles & Welcome
PJ Richardson, co-founder of design and animation studio Laundry, presents our opening titles.
9:50 AM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Kris Andrew Small
Creating outside of the lines. Don't miss his installation with ALNF lighting up Carriageworks' Bay 19.
10:30 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Jazlyn Fung & Tony Wong
On the creative power and functional service of typography design and graphic communication.
11:00 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Nick Thomm
A discussion about mixed-media and blurred lines in art-making.
11:30 AM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Mark Gowing (Formist) & Kevin Finn (Open Manifesto)
Two design legends discuss the making of their new book: a retrospective look at Finn’s iconic journal Open Manifesto.
1:00 PM
Panel ∙ 2 hours
Future State: Into the Metaverse, presented by Perion, featuring Serwah Attafuah, Anita Fontaine, Jason Juma-Ross, Mitch Penman-Allen, Stephanie Bendixsen & Emad Tahtouh
More than just NFTs, this is the future of creativity, commerce, and identity as we know it.
4:00 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Dollhouse Pictures
Co-founders Krew Boylan, Gracie Otto, Jess Carrera and Shannon Murphy on driving the film industry forward through female storytelling.
4:40 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
The Betoota Advocate
Australia’s favourite newspaper joins us on stage to uncover what makes a headline.
5:40 PM
Talk ∙ 30 minutes
Anita Fontaine
On the aesthetics of alternate realities.
6:10 PM
Talk ∙ 40 minutes
Del Kathryn Barton, Huna Amweero, Sam Jennings & Julia Savage
The writer, director, producer and actress of forthcoming feature film Blaze come together to discuss the process behind the ambitious creative project.
6:50 PM
Talk ∙ 50 minutes
Fredrik Ost & Erik Kockum – Snask
“Fuck conservatism, here comes change”. Everybody’s favourite Swedes return to Australia to celebrate the unbridled power of creativity.
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