Sydney’s Macquarie Street East will stay awake under the watchful eye of the MOPOKE this Saturday night.
The buildings will stay open, the alleyways will be alive and under the unique black light installations, you will see through the night like the MOPOKE, revealing unexpected paths from Shakespeare Place to Hyde Park Barracks.
MOPOKE is a 24-hour arts and culture festival kicking off at dusk on Saturday, February 4 and promising to take you on an artistic journey through night and day.
This Festival will be a celebration of arts, culture and creation. MOPOKE will be the festival of the unexpected, creating reasons to meet, facilitating ways to share, and giving people opportunities to debate, contemplate and participate with free access to spaces, exhibitions, talks and shows.
This night and day festival is a stimulating artist playground for all; democratising creativity. To enter the Mopoke world, all you need is an adventurous mind and restless curiosity. For your comfort, resting nooks will be organized around the precinct for visitors to have a break; eat, drink and re-fuel all through the night and day.
The iconic Macquarie Street will become pedestrianised from the Hyde Park Barracks to the State Library of NSW. The street will be transformed into an artist’s playground with live theatre, live music, street art and a giant glow-in-the-dark Playdough Garden where you can express your creativity, play with shapes and create art.
All through Macquarie Street, 10 food trucks will showcase the diversity and the quality of Sydney’s best street food. From Mexican to Vietnamese, Italian to Spanish, food trucks will create unique glow-in-the-dark food offering. Expect extraordinary food creations, wine, bubble bars & Espresso martinis to refuel all through the night and day.
Macquarie Street will connect each one of the unique experiences within the cultural institutions and public spaces from the Hyde Park Barracks to the State Library as well as The Mint, The Domain and the Sydney Eye Hospital. Follow the black light path to unique indoor and outdoor activities.
The large front gates of the historic Hyde Park Barracks will remain open throughout the night welcoming and guiding our curious visitors. Play with art all night and day.
Walk your way through the art & design market of the Hyde Park Barracks. 20 Pop-up artist studios will invite you to shop, take part in activities and showcase the “savoir-faire” of Sydney’s best creators. Meet the artists, take part in intimate workshops, shop, and learn a new craft.
From tattoo artists to pottery makers, a leather specialist to glow-in-the-dark painters, sculptors and more. This space is dedicated to sharing, learning and shopping.
At night, enter the glow-in -the-dark garden surrounding The Mint for a magical walk under the blacklight.
During the day, visit the flower shops & the native flower market. The garden is an invitation to wander and to meet Sydney’s most talented florists. The garden follows the rhythm of the moon, the rhythm of the day while classical music will immerse you all the way.
Creating a customer journey articulated around visual arts, and to enhance the beautiful architecture, Shakespeare’s theatre will be unfolding from the square using no other form of sound amplification than voices. The fountain will be flowing and glowing in the dark, the building will be enhanced with purple black lights to highlight some of the unique aspects of the architecture.
In this setting, the courtyard will be transformed into an Artist Plaza until late at night where artists will be drawing, magicians will be performing tricks and where street theatre performances will engage with our night owls or our daytime visitors.
Where fire arts meet live piano. Picture this… Walking along from Sydney Hospital, you see two giant white structures glowing in the night. In between, a white piano is shining through the night. Welcome to Fire in the Domain.
Once inside, the garden is a playground of fire artists, twirling the flames to the sound of the piano. Sometimes, a cello or a saxophone may join the party.
In the garden large rugs & lounger pillows provide a space to chill and enjoy the performers. Meanwhile, in the background, flaming cooking stations are serving up “flambé” desserts and a bar is creating smoky drinks that will warm up the night in the garden.
Between the new and old State Library of NSW buildings, enter the black light tunnel and explore Hunter Lane. In this modern triangle, the glass pyramid will glow, the DJ booth will pop under the black lights and if you want to join the dancing, grab a headset and immerse yourself. It’s party time.
Along Macquarie Street, next to the historic Mitchell building, you will find a bar, jazz musicians and an interactive art installation. Chill under the trees, enjoy a drink and listen to some jazz. At night, the State Library of NSW will be illuminated in purple creating a unique back drop to contrast with the glowing art installation.
Inside, the Mitchell Library Reading Room will stay open late on Saturday to reveal its beauty to the silent curious. Discover Sydney’s best kept secret rooftop, the newly renovated Library Bar, and enjoy an Indigenous astronomy panel, readings under the moonlight, plus cocktails and finger food. Just like the Mopoke, enjoy the panoramic views from above.
In addition to all the events at MOPOKE, Highland Park is presenting Flavours From The Fire at The Domain.
Inside The Domain, you’ll find three giant tipis that will host a luxurious woodland-inspired three-course dining experience featuring Highland Park’s single malt whiskies and cocktail creations by Sydney’s best mixologist and luscious flambéed desserts from Four Frogs Creperie. The bespoke tasting experience is available for a Saturday dinner and Sunday lunch.
Because of the projected popularity, this specific event inside of The Domain will be ticketed so booking in advance will be required to secure one of the 80 lucky spots to take part in a unique exploration of food and drink.
For details about the festival, visit www.mopokesydney.com.au.
