We spoke to Illuminate Adelaide’s co-Creative Directors Rachael Azzopardi and Lee Cumberlidge about the upcoming 2023 event, their hot picks for this year, and why it’s worth heading out into the cold this winter.

Q: What is the central idea behind Illuminate Adelaide?

Illuminate Adelaide is all about bringing the city alive in winter with interactive installations, immersive experiences, large scale projects, music performances and exhibitions that explore the convergence of creativity and technology.

Q: What can people expect from this year’s event?

A huge program including a new spectacular experience in Adelaide Botanic Garden called Resonate, an interactive playground of immersive artworks called Mirror Mirror in the Illuminate Pavilion in Victoria Square, Light Creatures at Adelaide Zoo, various music performances in venues across the city, and the ever-popular free program City Lights across the city for 17 nights from 7 – 23 July.

Q: How much of 2023’s program is different to previous years?

It is all entirely new! Although events like City Lights, Light Creatures, Unsound Adelaide, and KLASSIK Underground return in 2023, the line-ups of installations or performances in these programs are all new.

Q: What’s your highlight from the 2023 program?

Mirror Mirror is something we are very proud of as a world first immersive art experience for all ages. Nothing like it has been presented in Australia before and it is so engaging, colourful, and interactive. The artworks surround you and respond as you move through them!

Resonate is sure to be beautiful also as Moment Factory take their exploration of the human connection with the natural world even deeper this year with an entirely new experience.

Q: Do you have a must-see in the free City Lights program?

There are over 40 new installations to see this year – the projected artworks by Poh Ling Yeow in Rundle Street are really special – as is Into The Light, the projection on the façade of Government House, which celebrates significant women of South Australia across various fields. Also, don’t miss Man by Amanda Parer in Light Square as well!

Q: If you could summarise Illuminate Adelaide in three phrases, what would they be?

Fun. Inspiring. For everyone!

Read more about the Illuminate Adelaide 2023 program here.

More information from the Illuminate Adelaide 2023 edition of WeekendPlus: