Latest news with #AirshipOrchestra
Perth Now
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
PERTH FIRST: a surreal month at Claremont Quarter
Claremont Quarter is no stranger to style, but this month the luxe shopping destination is taking things to luminous new heights. Airship Orchestra is a surreal, larger-than-life art installation lighting up the precinct and turning an ordinary shopping trip into a whimsical experience. Created by Melbourne-based art and technology studio ENESS, Airship Orchestra is an internationally acclaimed installation that has enchanted audiences from Washington D.C. to Hong Kong, and now, lands in Perth for the first time on 21 May. Until 17 June, visitors can step into this glowing fantasy and meet the 16 inflatable beings scattered across Claremont Quarter, each one pulsing with light, sound and a touch of otherworldly charm. Towering up to six metres tall, the illuminated characters are paired with a soundscape that feels both ancient and futuristic. Whether you're wandering through with kids in tow or solo, the installation invites playful interaction and moments of stillness. And for the first time ever, Claremont Quarter is unveiling a six-metre-wide community colouring floor mural, offering a space where visitors of all ages can get creative. Inspired by the shapes and stories of the Airship Orchestra, the collaborative artwork encourages passers-by to slow down, grab a crayon and leave their mark. All this comes as part of Claremont Quarter's broader commitment to turning retail into an immersive cultural experience. In an era where shopping centres are evolving into lifestyle destinations, Airship Orchestra marks a moment where art, play and placemaking intersect. And after you've checked out the installation, you'll find Claremont Quarter's reimagined dining strip, The Laneway, is now home to a growing list of eateries including Yo-Chi and Izakaya Gin. From brunch favourites to new dinner menus, it's the perfect place to soak up the atmosphere. What makes this event truly special is how seamlessly it blends the fantastical with the everyday. You might come for groceries or a quick coffee, but you'll stay to marvel at a series of other-worldly inflatable beings, backflipping and crawling throughout the centre. Whether you're a local or just passing through, Claremont Quarter is inviting you to pause, play and look at your surroundings a little differently. Airship Orchestra is free to experience and open daily from 21 May until Tuesday 17 June from 8am - 9pm. Visit the website to find out more.
Perth Now
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Kooky inflatable art installation coming to WA first time
If you've ever wanted to know what a giant inflatable doing a backflip off the second floor of a building looks like, well, you won't be guessing for much longer. Claremont Quarter is just six days away from welcoming Airship Orchestra, a 16-strong cast of kooky inflatable characters — the largest up to 8m tall — for four weeks, fresh from its last stop in the San Francisco Balloon Museum. Alongside the installation by award-winning Melbourne studio ENESS is a 6m long floor mural, where children (and grown-ups) can colour in the mystical tribe of otherworldly characters, the first time the interactive aspect has been introduced as part of the exhibit. Your local paper, whenever you want it. The characters will be waiting for visitors indoors and outdoors in Claremont Quarter and, in full, extends over a 500sqm area. The sound experience is its own spatial environment, immersing visitors in a score synced with light, creating an adventure that is aesthetically dynamic both day and night. ENESS artist and founder Nimrod Weis, who will be making his maiden voayge to WA for the exhibition, said Airship Orchestra was a truly collaborative and experiential moment that demonstrates art and technology colliding. 'Pieces like Airship Orchestra completely transcend the boundaries of language and age and demographic and create this intriguing and innocent world of wonder for people to enter,' Weis said. 'The connection between people and the characters — the connection between families, friends, and strangers — is incredibly pure and an essential proposition to explore particularly given the saturation of screens in our lives. 'We've been wanting to find an exhibition opportunity where people can colour in one of our installations for a long time. We are particularly excited about children's contribution to our artwork where they have the chance to get involved and work together to form something big and meaningful of which they can be proud.' If the charming and enchanting inflatables seem familiar, ENESS first made its mark in Perth with a pack of illuminated canines that took over Hillarys Boat Harbour for the WA premiere of interactive art installation, the Lost Dogs' Disco — a key attraction at the 2022 Joondalup Festival. Festivalgoers delighted in playing among the litter of bull terriers, dachshunds and poodles, where sensors brought the hounds to life with music, sound and light. ENESS also showcased another creation at last year's Subi Blooms Festival. With this being Airship Orchestra's debut at a shopping centre in WA, Claremont Quarter hopes the event will be a memorable experience filled with magic, wonder and delight for visitors. 'We cannot wait for everyone to get involved in the Airship Colour Zone,' Claremont Quarter senior marketing manager Claire Ridley said. 'Finding opportunities to pause, to engage with our friends and family and just explore that child-like sense of wonder no matter your age is incredibly special and very important these days.' Airship Orchestra can be viewed 8am-9pm every day at Claremont Quarter until June 17.
