Vivid Ideas will captivate Sydney over 23 days and nights from 25 May to 16 June.

Dare Jennings – Game Changer

Dare Jennings is one of Australia’s global success stories. He is the founder of Mambo clothing, Phantom records and Deus Ex Machina, yet according to Dare, he has no business knowledge to share. So how do you create cult brands that cut across age and lifestyles? You toss out the rule-book and follow your instincts.

What started with stripping back and customising motorcycles in a gritty inner-west Sydney workshop — along with screen printing a few t-shirts — has morphed into the multi-faceted beast that is Deus Ex Machina turning over $60 million in apparel, accessories and dead-cool bikes as well as running publishing projects, recording deals, cafes, festivals and retreats from Sydney to Milan to LA to Bali. The cornerstone? Everything is built on coveted experiences.

Dare will be joined by his good friend James Valentine — host of Afternoons on ABC Radio Sydney. Expect a broad ranging conversation touching on politics, music, surfing and — those bikes — with a few tips and tricks for success thrown in for good measure.

What: Vivid Ideas

Who: Dare Jennings

When: 27 May 2018

Where: City Recital Hall

To Find Out More Click Here

Peggy Oki and Laura Wells – Change agents.

Are you ready to be an agent for change? Join two pioneering women in arts and the environment to hear how they campaign to protect oceans. Learn tips about turning your passion into action and explore what part you can play to have an impact. This talk is part practical and part inspiration. Peggy has always been a pioneer – as the only female member of the iconic Z-Boys skateboard crew and now as a veteran artist activist. Laura Wells is the next generation of female leaders – using her international profile as a model, digital influencer and marine biologist to educate others in the war on plastic. If you want to know what tools and tips you can apply personally and professionally, how you can build a community (on-line and in real life) and be an agent for change – join us.

Peggy will take the audience on a journey from her early years to now and how she has forged her way in the male dominated spaces of surfing and skating to become a respected environmentalist. She will share her passion for whales, current projects that she is working on and how she is playing her part.

Laura will share practical tips on how you as an individual can make a change and inspire others around you to help fight the war on plastic. She has lots of very easy and simple solutions to share. She will also share insights into how she built her own brand and become an influencer – and how she uses these platforms and tools to educate others.

For enviromental warriors – young and old – come and be inspired and meet others in your tribe. There will be a chance to mingle and network post the talk.

Peggy Oki

Meet Peggy Oki, skateboarder, surfer, artist, environmental activist whose art inspires others to care about our oceans. In the ’70s, she broke into the boys-club as the only female member of the Zephyr Skateboard Team, made famous in the films Dogtown and Z Boys. Now at 60, she still skates, rock climbs and surfs. Her love of the waves directly informs her art. The large scale public art installation Origami Whales Project has enamoured hundreds of thousands of participants to the plight of whales and dolphins.

Laura Wells

Laura Wells is an Environmentalist, presenter and one of Australia’s top plus size models. Holding degrees in both Biology and Law, Laura’s passion for the environment, love for the ocean and interest in climate change has led her to become a positive role model, advocate and ambassador for change. Working on environmental campaigns with The Boomerang Alliance, Greenpeace, 1 Million Women, WWF Australia and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), being an active and vocal participant of the Cash for Containers campaign in NSW, a climate reality leader in Al Gore’s, Climate Reality Project and the main subject of a Canadian produced documentary ‘A Perfect 14’ has allowed Laura to extend the voice of environmental campaigns and help to educate those people not normally influenced by such a sphere.

Laura has just returned from the largest all female expedition to Antarctica where she participated in a women in STEM leadership program. Homeward Bound Project aims to facilitate an international network of 1000 women in STEM to foster their leadership, strategic policy and decision making, visibility and communication skills and highlight the role of women as leaders moving toward a more sustainable future. Learning these skills in the isolation and beauty of Antarctica and seeing climate change effects in real time has given Laura the encouragment and education to continue to strive for change.

What: Vivid Ideas

Who: Peggy Oki & Laura Wells

When: 6 June 2018

Where: Vivid Ideas Exchange MCA

To Find Out More Click Here

Wednesday 30 May: Vivid presents: Let’s talk about death. It won’t kill you.

Over three successive Wednesdays, Vivid Sydney will take over the gallery to create an intimate portrait of our better selves. Tonight, we explore and celebrate our own mortality, investigating issues of life and death. Join psychologists from The GroundSwell Project and the Indigo Project to explore how to approach death differently and inject creativity, humour and individuality into this very personal last passage. The evening also includes a 20 minute mass death and grieving meditation, a curated tour and music by Goldheist.

5.30pm – 6pm
Guided Tour: Moving Toward Stillness.

Can art help us express some of the emotions and difficult feelings we struggle to discuss openly? Join University of Technology Sydney Researcher Dr Gail Kenning and AGNSW Access Programs Producer Danielle Gullotta on a tour of selected artworks that prompt us to reflect on the end of life and matters of care.
Meet at the information desk

6.30pm – 7pm
Conversation: Let’s talk about death. It won’t kill you.

Join us for a conversation that celebrates life and considers how we deal with dying. How can we approach our final days and eventual demise in new ways? Kerrie Noonan and Mary Hoang encourage us to move beyond clinical attitudes to death and bring creativity, humour and individuality into this very personal last passage.

Kerrie Noonan is the director of The GroundSwell Project, a clinical psychologist in palliative care and an end-of-life researcher. The GroundSwell Project educates people about how they can approach death differently and works with communities to build death literacy.

Mary Hoang is a psychologist/artist who thinks deeply about what makes humans lead more meaningful lives. Founding The Indigo Project in 2012, Mary is now an in-demand teacher helping people to unlock potential and enhance their mindset. Mary specialises in working with life transitions. The Indigo Project that has taken on the role of mental health education, community building and providing support to Sydneysiders. By using therapy rooms, immersive experiences, music and art, The Indigo Project helps people to understand concepts like death, transformation, anxiety, self-love and forgiveness.

It’s time to make talking about death a normal part of life. This is a chance to explore end-of-life options and the possibilities that can support us to live well until our last breath.

Entrance court
This talk will be Auslan interpreted.

7.30pm, 8pm and 8.30pm  (20 minute experiences).

Transience: A Ceremony for Past Relationships

By The Indigo Project

Grief encompasses so much more than the loss of life. When we look closer, we are all experiencing the cycles of life and death across many aspects of our lives; the evolution of our attitudes, belief systems, emotions, friendships and relationships.
Letting go is important – but it’s hard. How do we deal with the baggage that we carry around every day, without knowledge of the rituals and tools to support change in our lives?

Transience: A Ceremony for Past Relationships by The Indigo Project is a 20 minute experience where we will partake in a modern day ritual. You will have the opportunity to release a person or situation in your life that no longer serves you. Whether that be an ex, an old friendship, or an incident that has caused you pain, begin to process the past with this unique experience by The Indigo Project founder and psychologist, Mary Hoang.

It’s time to let go.
Funeral dressings supplied by The House – Funeral Directors
Note: This experience may not be suitable for those currently grieving the death of a loved one.

What: Vivid Ideas

Who: Let’s Talk About Death: It Won’t Kill You – Vivid Art After Hours

When: 30 May 2018

Where: AGNSW

To Find Out More Click Here