Digital Dreams: Apple and Sydney Opera House Light Up the Sails
Toggle Dark Mode
Apple is joining forces with the Sydney Opera House for a new collaboration that will foster and inspire creativity among young people in one of Australia’s most iconic cities.
The yearlong program is kicking off with a newly commissioned artwork, Illuminating Creativity, which “will transform the Opera House’s eastern Bennelong sails […] into a canvas for creativity, community, and Australian talent.”
The work, which will be projected onto the building, is reminiscent of Apple’s Battersea Power Station exhibit from December, although instead of Christmas trees, Apple plans to show off a variety of different artworks from 10 emerging Australian artists — all created using Procreate on iPad.
Apple has yet to select all of those artists, since it’s following a similar playbook to what it did last year in London’s Your Tree on Battersea competition. From this coming Monday, March 9 until Sunday, March 15, members of the public will be able to attend free Today at Apple sessions to create their own digital iPad artwork and submit them for possible inclusion in the final projection, which will be displayed from March 25–27 and also include works from commissioned artists.
Beyond Illuminating Creativity, Apple and the Opera House plan to host several interactive programming and other experiences for young people. Apple will explore new ways to enhance these through technology supporting the Opera House’s Centre for Creativity, and will also be a founding partner for a new international children’s festival to be presented later this year.
“The Sydney Opera House, like Apple, is synonymous with creativity. This collaboration is a natural fit between two organisations that continue to search for new ways for people to experience the world. From our first international children’s festival to exciting programming highlights throughout the year, Apple’s support will enable us to continue to inspire and welcome more of the community in line with our ambition to be Everyone’s House,” said Louise Herron AM, the Sydney Opera House’s CEO.
In its newsroom announcement, Apple also highlighted how Procreate, one of the most popular apps for artistic work on the iPad, was developed by Tasmanian company Savage Interactive, making it an appropriate choice to be at the core of the new Sydney Opera House collaboration.
Rebecca Mills, an illustrator based in Perth who first discovered Procreate through a Today at Apple session and is one of the artists whose work has been commissioned for the Illuminating Creativity display, shared how her use of the tool has allowed her to design award-winning children’s books and other vibrant and colorful works for exhibitions.
“Procreate on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Pro has been a complete game changer for my career, allowing me to create professional-level artwork from virtually anywhere. The fact that Procreate is an Australian-born success story makes it extra special. If you had told me at that first Today at Apple session that I’d one day be using iPad Pro and Procreate to design artwork to be projected onto the Sydney Opera House, I wouldn’t have believed you. Using these amazing tools to design artwork for such an iconic canvas is a privilege, and I can’t wait to see my work light up the sails. It will definitely be a pinch-me moment.”
While the Australian initiative echoes what Apple did at Battersea Power Station, the approach appears to be slightly different. For Your Tree on Battersea, Apple offered downloaded templates for iPad, allowing anyone in the UK with an iPad to submit their creations. In Sydney, it appears that the submissions can be more free-form, but will need to be submitted by attending one of the Today at Apple sessions, which are being held from March 9–15 at Apple Store locations across Australia. The final selection of artworks will be projected at 8:30 p.m. on March 25 and at 8:00 p.m. on March 26 and March 27 on the eastern Bennelong sails of the Sydney Opera House.
