Tickets are now available to experience the Architects of Air’s world-famous Arboria luminarium – a monumental pneumatic walk-in sculpture that USC in association with Insite Arts will present to the Sunshine Coast next month.

The immersive and interactive sculpture, designed by Alan Parkinson, is dedicated to the theme of ‘trees’ and designed to evoke wonder at the beauty of light and colour.

The huge, air-filled structure will be exhibited at USC’s main campus at Sippy Downs from 25 August to 3 September as part of the Sunshine Coast Council’s annual Horizon Festival of Arts and Culture.

Free tickets are available online at www.horizonfestival.com.au. The exhibition is accessible to wheelchair users and people with mobility difficulties.

Architects of Air have toured their luminaria since 1992 in 43 countries across five continents, welcoming over three million visitors at more than 600 exhibitions.

Artist Alan Parkinson said each luminarium was a monument to the beauty of light and colour, offering a dazzling maze of winding paths and soaring domes inspired by Islamic and Gothic architecture.

“It’s an experience which awakens all the senses, creating a sense of wonder and enchantment for all ages as visitors are immersed in a unique sensory experience,” he said.

“In Arboria, visitors start by removing their shoes and entering an airlock. Once inside they can explore freely, follow their map through the maze or just lay back and enjoy the unique experience. Upon entering, a visitor’s first reaction is often one of delight at the unexpected beauty of the light.

“Through labyrinthine tunnels and cavernous domes, visitors move in a medium of saturated and subtle hues. Vivid reflections of liquid colour spill across the curved walls creating a world apart from the normal and every day.”

Visitors to Arboria also will be treated to a transfixing sound experience of forest and wildlife sounds and a piano composition by soundscape ecologist and musician Alice Eldridge (www.ecila.org).

USC Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill said the University had partnered with the Horizon Festival to help celebrate and foster creative talent and to highlight that people can explore their own creative genius and develop skills at USC.

Professor Hill said the 10-day Arboria exhibition was a gift from USC to the local community – in much the same way the University’s Imaginarium had been in recent years – and was likely to be viewed by more than 10,000 people.

“We believe it’s the role of our University to surprise and delight its community with new cultural and art experiences, and to expand people’s perspectives by providing things they’ve never seen before,” he said.

“The Architects of Air Arboria luminarium has toured internationally and this will be a world-first for the exhibition to be displayed in a regional area.”

What: Architects of Air’s Arboria luminarium
Location: USC’s Sippy Downs campus
Dates: Friday 25 August – Sunday 3 September
Free tickets: Available at www.horizonfestival.com.au
More details on Alan Parkinson or Architects of Air: visit www.architects-of-air.com