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Vivid Sydney 2026 - Sea Gathering

Australian National Maritime Museum

For Vivid Sydney 2026 the Australian National Maritime Museum is embarking on its largest Vivid Sydney program to date, celebrating Indigenous artforms and storytelling.

Throughout the Vivid Sydney 2026 program, from 22 May to 13 June, the Museum will be championing the incredible work of renowned Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait Island) artist Brian Robinson, with the precinct being illuminated after dark by Mythical Mashup: The Graphic Worlds of Brian Robinson.

Robinson’s work already is celebrated in his collaborative exhibition Ur Wayii (Incoming Tide) on show in the Museum.

A centerpiece of the Museum program will be a one night only event Sea Gathering on Tuesday June 2

Sea Gathering: Myth and Modernity is a free one-night immersive program which brings together light, music, making, food, and storytelling in a shared harbourside setting. The program combines contemporary visual art, live performance, digital play, hands-on workshops, and cultural storytelling. It operates as a hybrid between a night festival, exhibition activation, and community gathering, offering audiences a flexible and social experience.

Sea Gathering will feature free drop-in artmaking workshops for all ages, where visitors can remix Brian Robinson’s iconic imagery using risograph prints, collage papers, mixed media and printmaking techniques to create their own Cosmic Collage poster artworks. Audiences can also contribute to large-scale collaborative Paper Gardens installations, crafting glowing sculptural forms from recycled and paper-based materials inspired by Robinson’s vibrant floral sculpture series.

Throughout the evening, Robinson will lead small groups to the Action Stations deck to view the large-scale projection, sharing insights into the stories, characters and creative process behind the animation. Guests can also enjoy luminescent face painting and retro arcade games inspired by the pop culture references woven throughout Robinson’s work.

Occurring during Reconciliation Week, Sea Gathering recognises the importance and power of reconciliation, encouraging everyone to engage with and embrace Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. This year’s theme, All in, invites us all to come together in recognition of Australia’s shared history and to celebrate the world’s oldest continuing cultures.

Sea Gathering invites audiences to participate, create and connect - weaving tradition and technology into a shared contemporary cultural experience on Sydney Harbour.

 

The Museum’s Vivid Sydney program

Mythical Mashup: The Graphic Worlds of Brian Robinson, brings two monumental installations to the Museum’s waterfront precinct, blending humour, marine life, and pop-culture icons.

The first of these two installations, Cosmic Chase, transforms the Museum rooftop into an animated battleground where Brian Robinson’s Torres Strait motifs collide with pop culture. This Pac Man-style pursuit weaves ancestral mythology with gaming lore, reimagining tradition through a kinetic, retro-futurist lens of light and motion. Cosmic Chase has been developed by S1T2, with a soundscape that features Heavens by Elisha Umuhuri, originally commissioned by Patch Theatre for Wonderverse.

The second is Floating Realm, which unfolds across the harbour and Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse as a sculptural landscape of LED-lit forms, hovering on the water’s surface and suspended in the sky. Monumental tentacles curl and rise from the harbour, joined by drifting fish, a glowing moon, and other forms drawn from Robinson’s visual world. Floating Realm has been developed by Junior Major.

These immersive experiences of animation, illumination and storytelling will be visible at the Museum nightly from May 22 to June 13 between 6pm until 11pm, with optimal vantage points at Pyrmont Bridge or King Street Wharf as part of the famous Vivid Light Walk.

As part of the Vivid Minds program the museum will present the 5^th installment of the Big Blue Ideas program – Beyond the Bleach on June 10.

The Great Barrier Reef’s demise is widely seen as a foregone conclusion – but is that framing limiting our imagination of what comes next? A panel including Brian Robinson and marine biologist Emma Camp considers how we can best look after the Great Barrier Reef, incorporating Indigenous knowledge of the seas alongside Camp’s leading research of coral reef recovery. Other speakers include former triple J and ABC Sydney Breakfast host Adam Spencer and coral reef ecologist Dr Ben Fitzpatrick.

Beyond the Bleach is presented by Australian National Maritime Museum in partnership with Rolex through their Perpetual Planet initiative

The Museum is also pleased to host Wonderverse by Patch Theatre and a Vivid Moonlight Sea Kayaking Experience by Sydney Harbour Kayas as part of the VIVID Sydney 2026 program.

Wonderverse explores a universe of light in this immersive, awe-inspiring and interactive adventure for young children and their families, travelling across worlds of colour and imagination. 

This innovative 40-minute adventure, created by children’s theatre experts Patch Theatre, blends theatre, visual spectacle and play for a memorable and educational experience. 

Vivid Moonlight Sea Kayaking Experience - Step into an enchanting world with Sydney Harbour Kayaks on an unforgettable 90-minute night-time sea kayaking journey: the Sydney Vivid Moonlight Kayaking Experience.

The leisurely paddle adventure begins and concludes at the Australian National Maritime Museum. These guided kayaking expeditions offer a rare opportunity to traverse Darling Harbour on a moonlit escapade, granting you an unparalleled, and unique perspective of Vivid Sydney.

Museum Director and CEO, Ms Daryl Karp AM said, ‘Vivid Sydney is a vital moment for the Museum each year, giving us a powerful platform to connect audiences with art, culture and storytelling in unforgettable ways. In 2026, we are especially proud to celebrate the extraordinary work of Brian Robinson, whose richly imaginative practice brings together ancestral knowledge and contemporary creativity. From our major installations to the one-night only Sea Gathering event, his work captivates, inspires and invites new ways of seeing, and we are delighted to share that experience with Sydney through this year’s program. On water and on water, these are experiences not to be missed.’

Festival Director, Brett Sheehy AO said, ‘Brian Robinson’s work holds a remarkable ability to bridge ancient stories and contemporary culture, and we are thrilled to see his imagination brought to life on such a monumental scale at the Australian National Maritime Museum for Vivid Sydney 2026. This year’s program at the Museum is one of its most ambitious yet, and as a valued Vivid Sydney Program Partner across our Light and Minds pillars, their 2026 offering enriches the festival with imagination, depth and creative excellence.’

Vivid Sydney runs from 22 May to 13 June, for more information and to plan your visit, go to vividsydney.com  

For more information please visit: www.sea.museum/vividsydney

 

ENDS

Images available here : Vivid Sydney 2026 Images

Full program details available here: ANMM Vivid 26 Program details .pdf

Please note, we have limited availability in the first days of Vivid for media to enjoy a Vivid Moonlight Seakayaking Experience. Please contact Alex Gonzalez to arrange.

For media enquiries and images please contact:

Alex Gonzalez                 e: [email protected]                 m: 0401 545 778

 

Vivid Sydney                    e: [email protected]

 

About Vivid Sydney
Vivid Sydney, one of the world’s leading multi-artform festivals, transforms Sydney into a vibrant hub of creativity, innovation and community connection. In 2026, the festival will bring the city to life, both night and day for the first time, inspiring global audiences and driving cultural exchange. From 22 May to 13 June, the festival’s pillars of Light, Music, Minds and Food will create shared experiences, attract domestic and international visitors, and support the NSW Visitor Economy Strategy’s target of a $91 billion visitor economy by 2035. Proudly owned and managed by Destination NSW, Vivid Sydney showcases NSW’s cultural vibrancy and positions it as a global leader in artistic innovation.