Vivid North Sydney
News that North Sydney’s new mayor, Jilly Gibson, is trying to bring the highly successful Vivid Sydney Festival to North Sydney has put extra excitement and bounce in the step of many residents and traders.
For the past two decades, the decline of the North Sydney central business district as an employment, entertainment and destination hub, has been a perplexing issue for the former mayor, Genia McCaffery, the council and its administration.
Critics have directed responsibility for the decline to a number of factors – including high rents, lack of ‘parking-friendly’ policies, the lure of big companies to Sydney’s north west, and the fact the council’s environmental zoning policies have not actively encouraged ‘mixed residential’ usage and inner city population growth.
Businessman and co-founder of independent lobby group Living North Sydney, Joseph Opoyan, says the area will continue its ‘march into obscurity’ unless urgent action and pro-active planning becomes a priority.
‘Trying to bring the Vivid Sydney Festival to North Sydney is great news,’ he tells North Shore Living. ‘We are starting to see some developments that will breathe new life into the area because, for the past 15 years, we have gone from being a vibrant business hub to a ghost town after 5pm, Monday to Friday and on the weekends,’ he confirms.
About 18 months ago, Optus relocated its 3,000 workers out of North Sydney – just one of many companies who have left the area in the past decade, contributing to severe economic consequences.
‘Of course, companies like Optus leaving have had a huge effect,’ Mr Opoyan maintains. ‘Just think about all the restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and drycleaners who have lost thousands of dollars by this exodus. It’s hard to justify having a business here when you are forced to open on weekends but your customers are nowhere to be seen after 5pm on Friday.’
Mayor Gibson has announced the council has started major negotiations with Vivid Sydney and Destination NSW in getting the festival brought across the harbour to light up North Sydney.
She says she’s had lots of positive feedback from residents about the Vivid Sydney proposal and the need to really ‘revitalise North Sydney.’
‘Residents embrace arts and culture, and I’m getting great feedback from the business community as well,’ she tells North Shore Living.
‘I think it would be a wonderful way of showcasing North Sydney and putting us back on the map – it would be beneficial in every sense.’
Mayor Gibson says she and the new council have started to ‘brainstorm’ ideas because the CBD is lacking a heart and soul, and what is needed are both short-term and long-term goals and initiatives. She says Vivid Sydney would be an excellent start.
Vivid Sydney is now in its fourth year and runs from late May to early June. In 2012, more than 50 light installations and large-scale projections were located around The Rocks and Circular Quay, including interactive energy-efficient light sculptures and the famous ‘Lighting the Sales’ on the Sydney Opera House.
The program also includes a colourful canvas of music and ideas, in addition to the light displays. Each year, the festival attracts more than half a million visitors into the area and injects more than $10 million into the local Sydney and NSW economy.
This is an event North Sydney would like to embrace. Vivid Sydney 2012 creative consultant, Ignatius Jones, says the event always attracts global industry leaders alongside emerging talents, coming together through an 18-day program of discussion, debate and workshops at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
‘The residents are telling us they want to liven up their CBD,’ Mayor Gibson says. ‘It’s a waste of a major resource that it is deserted after 5pm, and I think in the future we are going to see some really positive things happening there.’
A spokeswoman for Destination NSW says discussions have been ongoing with North Sydney Council about the viability of Vivid Sydney operating within an area of the CBD. She says ‘any inclusion would require major partners to fund the initiative.’
Mayor Gibson says the proposal could include light displays travelling across the harbour to light up the foreshore using ferries and also linking the city of Sydney and North Sydney by lighting the Harbour Bridge and pylons.
The North Sydney traders and especially groups like Living North Sydney agree things in the area must change.
‘We think the new council is on board with what needs to be done,’ Mr Opoyan tells North Shore Living.
‘This (the CBD) is not a small boat you can turn around quickly – it’s more like a massive oil tanker. I think a lot of people have been asleep at the wheel for the past 15 years. A beautiful place like North Sydney should be thriving. We definitely need change.’
January 2013 Edition of North Shore Living