Featuring an all-new experience throwing open the gates of Government House every night of Illuminate Adelaide, see this South Australian institution become the canvas for a premiere projection work by Spanish luminary legend Javier Riera. Working specifically with light and geometrics this mesmerizing and meditative experience, brought to you by the winner of the renowned Enaire Prize, is sure to be awe-inspiring! 

Special thanks to Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC, Governor of South Australia.

Made up of 75 mirrored nodes, 14,000 pixels, 3 entrances and 1 inviting circle, Emergence by the UK’s This is Loop is a special place for reflection. Designed to present the endless interaction of order and chaos in the world around us, this glorious sanctum refracts your movements back at you in surprising and unexpected ways. Challenging us to see the world differently, step inside and see what awaits…

Step into the magical world of FierS à Cheval for these special roaming performances by France’s Compagnie des Quidams! Quirky characters transform into majestic, luminous horses, leading us through a sparkling cavalcade of waltzes, tangos, storms, and jousts. A truly delightful and dream-like journey evoking wonder, emotion, and freedom before it all fades away.

Roving times:

Friday 04 July 
Saturday 05 July
Sunday 06 July

Friday 11 July 
Saturday 12 July
Sunday 13 July

Friday 18 July
Saturday 19 July 
Sunday 20 July

Locations coming soon...

Artist Joan Ross invites you on an animated journey through a cabinet of curiosities in this expansive projection on the façade of the Art Gallery of South Australia. Explore the Leverian Museum, a place that once held animal specimens, antiquities and ethnographic objects sourced on voyages by Captain James Cook. Collaging 18th century watercolour illustrations of the original artefacts by Sarah Stone, I give you a mountain reimagines the impact of colonialism on our planet, charting a dangerous course from a verdant paradise to desert dystopia.

Artist, Joan Ross, born Glasgow, Scotland. Animation, Josh Raymond. I give you a mountain, 2018, Sydney, HD video animation; 6:30 min. Gift of Dr Pei-Yin Hsu, Pam McKee & Jennifer Hallett through the Art Gallery of South Australia Foundation Collectors Club 2022, Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. © Joan Ross, courtesy N.Smith Gallery

Let there be light! Burdened with the safe-keeping of souls, these Illuminated Angels communicate only with their heart on their travels through Illuminate Adelaide. Surreal, visually stunning and playful, these floating benevolent beings bestow light and joy wherever they land. Performing on the first and final weekend, be sure to try and find them on your City Lights journey!

Roving times:

Friday 04 July 
Friday 18 July
Saturday 19 July 

Locations coming soon...

When too much is not enough, let the Illuminati brighten up your mood! With a playful spirit and a contagious urge to dance, Born in a Taxi make joining the fun irresistible. What is there to lose? Let the good times roll with Illuminati, roving on the first and final weekend of City Lights!

Roving times:

Saturday 05 July

Locations coming soon...

Keep your eyes peeled because the ball is coming to you in this thrilling light art game by Hungarian studio Limelight, made in collaboration with Zsolnay Light Festival. Grab up to ten friends, split into two teams, and race to rally the glowing ball as it bounces between you. But stay alert - this game is all about quick reflexes and teamwork!

Scattered throughout Adelaide's iconic East End, Rundle Illuminations displays a collection of large-scale interactive installations, roving performances, and glowing light works. Featuring LAPS by Quebec’s Olivier Landreville, where you control time by spinning the giant 7.8-feet hourglass wheel to watch the seconds tick by. Be mesmerised by the joyous roving performances of Melbourne’s Born in a Taxi including both Illuminated Angels and Illuminati, as well as the roving giant inflatable horses in FierS à Cheval by France’s Compagnie des Quidams. After all that …please have a seat! and take in the beauty around you on our glowing light benches straight from Germany. 

LAPS is created by Olivier Landreville, produced by Init, and tour produced by Creos.

Embrace the Dutch tradition of cycling by hopping on a bike and racing against your competitors in this epic light-cycle showdown by The Netherland’s own Venividimultiplex and Light Art Collection. As you pedal faster on these two-driven bikes, the vibrant arches hold the winners victorious with a dazzling burst of colour. It’s a fun, accessible and head-to-head battle of speed and light – so take your marks, get set, glow!

A mesmerising parade of kaleidoscopic creatures glide, stomp and swoop through a dreamlike landscape. Created by UK based digital art collective Universal Everything, Migrations reimagines animal evolution using motion capture from real creatures — elephants, ostriches, kangaroos and caterpillars — each with its own lifelike rhythm. Who are these beings? Where are they going? The answers lie in your imagination.

Featuring 19 giant spheres with glowing surprises to discover, moonGARDEN by Montreal’s Lucion is an invitation to dream. With a presentation of the installation focused on the Guardian of currents, a branch of maths that illustrates notions of sets and belonging, wander through this delightful interplay of light, shadow play, video and delight that creates a joyous fantasy world to get lost in.

Capturing the intricate web of connections found in nature, Mycelium Network presents a dazzling fibre optic work depicting the unseen world that sustains our ecosystems. Glowing with organic light and snaking through garden beds of plants and mushrooms, this otherworldly experience invites us to explore the hidden energy flows that power the boundless forces of the natural world.

Take a moment to put your feet up amongst the lights with these dazzling neon benches. Placed in special locations all across the city, ...please take a seat! comes straight from light art studio lichtbankobjekte by M+V in Heinsberg, Germany to provide the perfect spot to recharge and appreciate the spectacle around you.

SomniUs by illumaphonium takes you beyond waking life into a boundless world of light, sound, and movement! With the sky dancing in response to your explorations, connect with nature, the cosmos, and each other in an unrestricted reimagining of life where freedom and imagination unite into a collective dream.

Filling winter’s chill with a dream of Spring, Dutch collective Studio Toer turns the city into a peaceful bloom of light inspired by flowers and nature's rebirth. An immersive artwork capturing the essence of the season, Spring Vibes celebrates renewal by bringing a fresh joyful spirit to the colder months to remind us that life is always quietly blooming.

Spring Vibes premiered at Glow Eindhoven.

A visual retelling of an ancient Chinese folklore, Graduate Pathway Program recipient and local SA artist Jake Yang presents this timeless story of perseverance and determination against insurmountable odds. Reimagined through beautiful ceramic work and projection to present the koi’s hundred-year struggle to reach the top of the waterfall, sit by the water and ponder this delightful celebration of courage.

Let the choir sing! VOICES by SA creative studio Pulsing Heart celebrates connection through music and play. Spin a tube to bring this light and sound sculpture to life.  With all fifty tubes spinning, hear the magical score of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs echo through our city streets.