Vivid Sydney has launched a new professional development program for emerging First Nations artists, offering mentorship and industry experience in light art, motion design and large-scale public installations.
The First Nations Light Accelerator is backed by a $600,000 NSW Government investment and will connect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander creatives with professional motion graphics and design studios.
The program is intended to help artists develop ideas that could eventually be considered for future editions of Vivid Sydney.
Artists to Work With Professional Design Studios
Participants will spend around four months during the first half of 2027 working alongside experienced creative teams.
The program will cover areas including concept development, animation, light installation design and the technical and production processes involved in creating large-scale public artworks.
Artists will also receive mentorship, industry connections and support to develop an original concept into a proposal suitable for a future Vivid Light program.
Each selected participant will receive a gross payment of $18,000, including applicable tax and superannuation.
Participants must be available for up to two days a week over the four-month development period.
Pathway Towards Future Vivid Sydney Projects
While the Accelerator begins in 2027, participation does not automatically mean an artwork will appear at Vivid Sydney that year.
According to the official program information, artists will work towards developing a Vivid Light-ready proposal that could be submitted through the Vivid Sydney 2028 Expression of Interest process, expected to open around June or July 2027.
The program is therefore structured as a development pathway rather than a direct commission for the 2027 festival.
Vivid Sydney 2027 itself will run from 28 May to 19 June, with programming across Light, Music, Minds and Food.
Who Can Apply
The Accelerator is open to First Nations artists and creatives interested in combining storytelling with light, technology and digital design.
Applicants may come from traditional art backgrounds, animation, digital media or other creative practices and do not need previous experience producing large-scale light installations.
However, applicants must:
- identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- be based in Sydney
- demonstrate an existing creative practice
- be available for the four-month program in the first half of 2027.
Applications also require examples of previous work and a short pitch for an idea that could potentially become a future Vivid Sydney light project.
Expressions of interest close at 5pm on 9 November 2026, with successful participants expected to be notified later that month.
Program Honours Rhoda Roberts AO
The initiative also honours the late Rhoda Roberts AO, who previously served as Vivid Sydney’s First Nations Advisor and played a significant role in shaping the festival’s Indigenous programming.
Her work included curating First Light and helping integrate First Nations perspectives across Vivid Sydney’s broader cultural program.
Roberts, a Widjabul Wia-bal woman and long-time arts leader, died in March 2026. Her career included work across theatre, festivals, broadcasting and First Nations cultural advocacy.
Vivid Sydney’s current First Nations Advisor, Travis De Vries, is involved in continuing that work and supporting the development of the new Accelerator.
Part of Broader First Nations Creative Development
The Accelerator adds a structured training pathway alongside Vivid Sydney’s existing First Nations programming, which has included artists, musicians, performers, speakers and food creators across the festival.
The NSW Government is also providing $400,000 through Create NSW for Aboriginal cultural arts tourism initiatives, separate from the $600,000 Accelerator investment.
For the new program, the immediate focus will be on developing artists’ technical skills and industry networks during 2027, with potential pathways into future Vivid Sydney commissions and other large-scale creative projects.
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