Semi Permanent adds to its festival lineup with standout creative talent

Following the initial talent lineup announced last month, Semi Permanent has today released the full daily event program for its Sydney 2022 festival of creativity and design, with 50 speakers contributing to more than 20 hours of inspiring keynote talks and discussions.

Talent added to the existing lineup – of which Sabine Marcelis, Ta-ku, Jonathan Saunders, Dollhouse Pictures, Foreign Policy Design Group, The Betoota Advocate, and Flamingo Estate’s Richard Christiansen are part of – includes:

• Aries Moross — creative director, London
• Freddie Öst & Erik Kochum — co-founders and creative directors, Snask, Stockholm
• Balarinji — Aboriginal-owned brand design agency, Sydney
• Mark Gowing & Kevin Finn — legendary designers, Sydney & Brisbane
• Yvonne Weldon — deputy chair, Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council
• Damon Gameau — documentary filmmaker, 2024, Northern NSW
• Anita Fontaine — creative director, New Zealand
• Chris Fox — artist & architect, Sydney
• Dave Hartmann — strategy partner & children’s book author, Special Group, Sydney

Each day of the event includes a Future State session: a two-hour deep dive into some of the key topics of our time. In ‘City Utopia’, presented by Audi on Thursday 26th May, a group of creative experts will come together to devise a blueprint for what our urban centres could look like in the future. On Friday 27th, play-to-earn investor Perion will host a discussion about the three distinct functions integral to the future of our hyperreality, exploring the creative, business and design opportunities of the metaverse. And returning to Semi Permanent on Wednesday 25th is Rare, Google’s diversity and inclusion platform providing equitable opportunities for underrepresented creatives.

While the talks program at Semi Permanent is ticketed, the overarching event is free-to-attend and this year comprises an expanded visitor experience including exhibitions, installations, pop-up stores, nightly DJ sets, and an art and design book fair, featuring over 30 Australian publishers and creators. For the first time, half-day tickets have been made available (adding to single, two- and three-day tickets, along with a premium option), as well as special pricing for students.

This year, Semi Permanent has partnered with Humanitix as the ticketing partner for the event. Turning booking fees into a force for good, since its launch in 2016 the Australian not-for-profit has turned over AU$1m of fees into funding for disadvantaged children around the world. That means for every ticket sold to Semi Permanent Sydney, 100% of the booking fees go to registered charities, including Indigenous education scholarship fund Yalari, and Room to Read, which supports literacy in low-income communities.

Semi Permanent Sydney will be held at Carriageworks from 25th-27th May 2022. Tickets, including for the first time single– and half–day tickets, are now on sale at semipermanent.com