Semi Permanent, New Zealand’s most prestigious, popular and influential creative festival, is back in Auckland in 2020 to once again pull community together, shape ideas and celebrate the power of good design to change and influence the world around us.  
 
For 18 years Semi Permanent has brought the best global design talent to local shores to share thought-provoking, inspirational and often very personal insights about what it means to practice design at the highest levels.

This year, however, with the creative sector seriously affected by the coronavirus pandemic fallout, the event has been repurposed to meet new objectives, including to inspire and help ‘reboot’ the combined creative industries. To that end – and thanks to new sponsors Alt Group, Special Group and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) – Semi Permanent is free to attend as a way of giving back to the creative communities that have provided support over the years and to inspire a new generation to take up creative careers.

It will also be livestreamed in full (another first), making it freely available to anyone, anywhere.

The lineup is a stellar mix of New Zealand’s brightest talents and most influential figures in design, technology, art, architecture, advertising and screen production.

They include leading contemporary artist Lisa Reihana, fashion icon Kate Sylvester, Billy Apple – New Zealand’s greatest artist, Wallpaper* Designer of the Year 2020 Sabine Marcelis, ex-Apple industrial designer Danny Coster, multi-disciplinary artist Coco Solid, and serial entrepreneur Greg Cross, whose latest venture, Soul Machines, is changing the face of human-digital interaction.

There will also be live performances – from the legendary contemporary dance group Black Grace, poet Tayi Tibble, rising rapper and producer Vayne, and Troy Kingi, a multi-genre musician and 2020 Silver Scroll finalist.

To register for the free ticket ballot and livestream, go here.

$2 per hour to a max of $12 on weekends and a $12 flat rate for weekday evenings at The Civic car park. Find out more

Last updated: 11 June 2019