News

  • EOI dates: Tuesday 5 Nov 2024 - 11:59pm Wednesday 13 Nov 2024 

    Festival date: 10 March 2025 - 6 April 2025

    We’re inviting artists to help light up Sydney’s Chinatown at Neon Playground 2.0! Dixon Street and surrounding streets will transform into a celebration of art, light, and culture in March 2025, as part of the festival hosted by Haymarket Alliance. Whether you're an established artist or emerging talent, if you’ve got a bright idea, we want to hear from you. 

    We’re seeking artists to collaborate with us to create bold, illuminated installations, interactive experiences, and boundary-pushing light art that reflects the vibrant and diverse spirit of Chinatown. Whether you specialise in neon art, projections, interactive design, or any other medium that can glow and shine, we’d love to see your vision.

    What We’re Looking For

    • Eye-catching artwork: Work that celebrates colour, light, and movement, and  encourages festival-goers to interact, play, or contribute.

    • Reflective of Chinatown’s Cultural Heritage: Works that resonate with the rich cultural history and stories of Sydney’s Chinatown.

    Why Participate?

    • Showcase your work at Sydney’s largest Asian-Australian cultural festival, and be a vital part of a unique event that draws visitors from all over Sydney and beyond

    • Engage with a vibrant, multicultural community and celebrate Asian-Australian creativity

    • Receive a budget for artist fees

    • Feature as one of the profiled artists in the Neon Playground 2.0 media assets

    How to Apply

    • Application Deadline: 11:59pm, Wednesday 13 Nov 2024 

    • Submission Requirements: Send a short project proposal (300 words max) and visual sketch, and portfolio/website.

    Submission Email: info@haymarketalliance.com.au

    Additional Information

    For more information about Neon Playground,

    visit the website

    or

    Instagram

  • EOI dates: Monday 2 Sep 2024 - Wednesday 18 Sep 2024 (extended by 48 hours)

    Festival date: 10 March 2025 - 31 March 2025

    The Neon Playground Festival in Sydney’s Chinatown is seeking a Creative Director to lead the creative and architectural lighting design of the 3-week festival from concept to delivery.

    The inaugural Neon Playground Festival debuted in Oct-Dec 2022, which saw the activation of Chinatown through a series of neon art installations throughout Dixon Street, with a wider program of music and entertainment. Hundreds of thousands of people visited Chinatown during the three-week period, starting with the launch Block Party event.

    Neon Playground 2.0 will be held for 3 weeks in March 2025. The aim is to eclipse the inaugural event with creative and vibrant lighting activations on Chinatown’s Dixon Street, with the festival now expanding to surrounding streets. There is a budget of $150,000 to deliver the public creative lighting activation in Dixon Street (inclusive of consultation fee, design and planning approvals) with another $50,000 for activations outside of Dixon Street.

    Expressions of interest are open until 11.59pm 16 September 2024. A notification of the outcome will be sent in late September. 

    Your submission for Neon Playground 2.0 should:

    • be highly engaging, vibrant and appeal to a broad audience 

    • demonstrate design excellence and innovation

    • speak to the evolving Asian-Australian identity

    • factor in budget, safety and technical requirements

    Potential lighting activation locations:
    Dixon St south (compulsory)
    Thomas St/Hay St public space
    Market City
    Dixon St North
    Sussex St
    Thaitown 

    Submission Requirements

    1. Portfolio (examples of previous work in creative direction, visual arts, lighting design, or related fields)

    2. CV (including previous client references)

    3. Concept design with drawings (illustration/technical drawing)

    4. Video submission (max 5 minutes)

      Submission Format

    • All documents should be submitted in PDF format.

    • A video submission (link) outlining your concept and how it will come to life.

    • Portfolio files can be submitted as PDF, JPEG, or a link to an online portfolio.

    Submission Deadline

    • All EOIs must be submitted by 11.59pm, 18 September 2024.

    Evaluation Criteria

    Submissions will be evaluated by a Haymarket Alliance panel based on the following criteria:

    • Overall vision, creativity and innovation

    • Celebration of Chinatown and Asian-Australian culture

    • Previous experience and portfolio

    • Consideration of project budget and technical requirements

    • Ability to execute architectural drawings and the planning process with the City of Sydney

    How to Submit

    Please send your complete EOI package to info@haymarketalliance.com.au

    Additional Information

    For more information about Neon Playground,

    visit the website

    or

    Instagram

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