Five must-see things at Illuminate Adelaide

If you thought Van Gogh Alive was immersive and spectacular, check this out. Wisdom of AI Light, presented by Istanbul-based visionaries Ouchhh Studios, dunks you into a trippy environment of imagery and sound that puts the ‘art’ into artificial intelligence. Housed in a massive, specially designed pop-up exhibition space in the east end of the Adelaide CBD, it’s a work of extraordinary scale and vision from the pioneers of data paintings and sculptures. This 30-minute experience is presented in five sections that traverse from renaissance painters, with a focus on the works of Leonardo da Vinci, through to a collaboration with NASA in which the AI processes the data from the Kepler Space Telescope to unlock the mysteries of our universe. Thrumming with transportive movement, this is a truly memorable experience.

Until Aug 14. Illuminate Pavilion, Corner of Rundle Road and East Terrace. Sessions available every 45 minutes: Tue-Thu & Sun 11am-8pm, Fri & Sat 11am-8.45pm, closed Mondays. $35. Get tickets here.

The word “enchanting” gets thrown around a lot, especially when talking about light installations. But this spellbinding after-dark art trail is really a cut above the rest (our apologies to Vivid Sydney). The runaway hit of Illuminate Adelaide’s inaugural program, Light Cycles is back by popular demand with new additions, transforming the lush greenery of Adelaide Botanic Gardens. Disappear down the rabbithole and follow the free-flow path towards a simmering sunset at the end of a tree-lined path studded with a kaleidoscope lasers, lights that dance across the surface of a lake, a boutique greenhouse lit from within like some kind of intergalactic temple, emotive original soundscapes that reverberate through your body, and even more. This Australian-first production is from celebrated Montreal studio Moment Factory. Before or after you paramble through the lights, you can pull up a pew by the bonfires at the pop-up Light Cycles Bar, with a great local food and beverage offering.

Until Jul 31. Adelaide Botanic Garden, Ginkgo Gate (via Frome Rd). Sessions available every 15 minutes: Tue-Thu from 6pm, Fri- Sun from 5.30pm, closed Mondays. $40. Get tickets here. 

Adelaide’s beautiful (and rather easily walkable) streetscapes turn into a night-time adventure of colour and sound during Illuminate. Over 17 winter nights, you have the opportunity to discover a new series of more than 40 immersive installations, artworks and large-scale activations – and all of the City Lights program is totally free. Wander through a playground of giant seesaws, dance beneath a unique series of laser sensors, stumble  across a collage of luminescent pools and get lost in the shimmering pixels, optical illusions and  projections when Adelaide’s laneways, grand public spaces and buildings are transformed. Wander off North Terrace into the Mortlock Wing of the The State Library of South Australia to discover We Will Slam You With Our Wings, a seven-channel operatic video installation. Created by Adelaide-based performer Joanna Dudley, We Will Slam You steals from some of history’s notoriously sexist speeches to create a feminist war cry, in a defiant rebuke of ghosts of misogynists past. If you want to add a touch of animal magnetism to your after-dark adventures, you can also get tickets to Light Creatures ($30) at Adelaide Zoo. A nocturnal adventure for the whole family featuring a few appearances from the zoo’s own furry and feathery residents, its larger-than-life lanterns and interactive performances celebrate conservation. 

It's coming up, it's coming up – it’s the Gorillaz in Adelaide. It kind of makes sense for the world’s biggest virtual band to perform at a festival that celebrates innovation, art, light, music and technology. Long before online concerts and festivals became a thing, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett seamlessly meshed art, music and technology together to create the enduring and innovative global phenomenon known as Gorillaz. The Gorillaz are making a special appearance in the city of churches for the first time in over a decade during their national tour. The BRIT- and Grammy Award-winning supergroup will bring their genre-hopping blend of hip hop, rock and dance to life with a 20-piece ensemble led by Albarn and an all-star army of collaborators. 

Thu Jul 28, doors 7pm. Adelaide Entertainment Centre, 98 Port Rd, Hindmarsh. $110-$180. Get tickets here. 

Bigger isn’t always better. Aside from the Gorillaz, the Illuminate program is dishing out some small but mighty gigs in unlikely spaces. Four electric weekends of live music paired with immersive lights and visuals are lighting up the night for Live @ The Lab. A multi-functional performance space wrapped in 50 square metres (that’s 14 million pixels) of LED screens, the Lab is accessed through Beags, an outdoor bar open from 5pm to late, perfect for pre- and post-gig bevvies. Remaining gigs in the series include pop prodigy Kota Banks and Sunbeam Sound Machine. 

Every Friday and Saturday until Jul 30. The Lab, 63 Light Square, Adelaide. $25-$50. Get tickets here.