Semi Permanent is a creative experience company, best known for hosting annual design festivals. Semi Permanent provides creative and production services via SP Studio and SP Productions. Semi Permanent produces innovative creative experiences for clients, including Google, Dropbox and National Geographic. The first Semi Permanent event was hosted in Sydney, Australia in 2003. Semi Permanent host events throughout Australia and New Zealand, as well as international events in the United States, United Kingdom and China. Semi Permanent curate and host new events throughout the world each year. Some of the executive attendants of the event have been

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...

Ed Templeton Ed Templeton (born July 28, 1972) is an American professional skateboarder, contemporary artist, and photographer. He is the founder of the skateboard company, Toy Machine, a company that he continues to own and manage. He is based in Huntington ...

Wieden+Kennedy Wieden+Kennedy (W+K; earlier styled ''Wieden & Kennedy'') is an American independent global advertising agency best known for its work for Nike. Founded by Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, it is one of the l ...

Shepard Fairey Frank Shepard Fairey (born February 15, 1970) is an American contemporary artist, activist and founder of OBEY Clothing who emerged from the skateboarding scene. In 1989 he designed the " Andre the Giant Has a Posse" (...OBEY...) sticker cam ...

Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)L.A.'s MOCA picks art dealer Jeffrey Deitch as director''Los Angeles Times''. born 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects ( ...

Paula Scher Paula Scher (born October 6, 1948, Washington, D.C.) is an American graphic designer, painter and art educator in design. She also served as the first female principal at Pentagram, which she joined in 1991.Scher, Paula." (n.d.): Oxford University ...

Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...

and

Paul Pope Paul Pope (born September 25, 1970, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American alternative cartoonist. Pope's work combines the precision and romance of European comics artists with the energy and page design of the manga tradition. Pope's tw ...

. In 2020 Semi Permanent announced their partnership with digital publisher

Highsnobiety Highsnobiety is a global fashion and lifestyle media brand founded in 2005 by David Fischer. It was bought by German e-commerce giant Zalando in 2022. Highsnobiety is headquartered in Berlin and has offices in Amsterdam, London, Milan, New York ...

. Since 2013 Semi Permanent has been part of the Vivid Ideas calendar. Previous Semi Permanent festival line-ups have included presentations from Fancesco Zizola, Brian Roettinger, Numskull, and many more.

Background

Founded in 2002 by Murray Bell and Andrew Johnstone, Semi Permanent encompasses three core business pillars: Semi Permanent, SP Brand Studio and SP Productions. The Semi Permanent office is located in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Semi Permanent is the company's namesake brand, encompassing a global design festival, annual book, website and more. Semi Permanent have been running creativity festivals since 2003 in cities across the globe, including Sydney, Auckland, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Portugal. Past speakers and collaborators include iconic filmmakers

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one of the writers ...

, and the Coppola family; artists

Tom Sachs Tom Sachs (born July 26, 1966) is an American contemporary artist who lives and works in New York City. Life and early career Sachs was born in New York City on July 26, 1966. He grew up in Westport, Connecticut, attending high school at Green ...

, CJ Hendry and

Alex Israel Alex Israel (born October 1982) is an American multimedia artist, writer, and eyewear designer from Los Angeles. His work includes large, colorful airbrushed paintings of abstract gradients and Los Angeles skies, his self-portraits, painted on s ...

; and the world’s most renowned creatives including

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

’s

Tinker Hatfield Tinker Linn Hatfield, Jr., (born April 30, 1952, Hillsboro, Oregon) is an American designer of numerous Nike athletic shoe models, including the Air Jordan 3 through Air Jordan 15, the twentieth-anniversary Air Jordan XX, the Air Jordan XXIII, ...

, Pentagram’s

, Pro Skater

Tony Hawk Anthony Frank Hawk (born May 12, 1968), nicknamed Birdman, is an American professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, and the owner of the skateboard company Birdhouse. A pioneer of modern vertical skateboarding, Hawk completed the first documen ...

, architect

Bjarke Ingels Bjarke Bundgaard Ingels (; born 2 October 1974) is a Danish architect, founder and creative partner of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). In Denmark, Ingels became well known after designing two housing complexes in Ørestad: VM Houses and Mountain D ...

and many more. Previous festivals have included the collaborations with Google Tilt Brush and

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

. Previous festival themes include "Truth" in 2019, and "Restless" in 2020. Semi Permanent publishes an annual book, featuring interviews with creative thought leaders. Previously featured interviews, conversations and work include talent such as

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

, Cara Stricker,

Takashi Murakami is a Japanese contemporary artist. He works in fine arts media (such as painting and sculpture) as well as commercial (such as fashion, merchandise, and animation) and is known for blurring the line between high and low arts as well as co ae ...

, Nadia Lee Cohen and Kevin Parker. SP Brand Studio co-created a two-day live sport & creativity experience in 2021, and created an immersive retrospective with

Stanley Donwood Dan Rickwood (born 29 October 1968), known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer Thom Yorke, plus Yorke's other projects. He ...

and

with a bespoke soundscape by

Thom Yorke Thomas Edward Yorke (born 7 October 1968) is an English musician and the main vocalist and songwriter of the rock band Radiohead. A multi-instrumentalist, he mainly plays guitar and keyboards and is noted for his falsetto. He has been describe ...

. SP Productions is Semi Permanents 'white label' events and production agency. SP Productions worked with Google to curate, program and produce their global diversity and inclusion program, Rare.

Past speakers and collaborators (selection)

Roman Coppola Roman François Coppola (born April 22, 1965) is an American director, screenwriter, producer and the son of Francis Ford Coppola and Eleanor Coppola. For the 2012 film ''Moonrise Kingdom'', he and co-writer Wes Anderson were nominated for the A ...

* Kevin Parker, Tame Impala *

Olivier Zahm Olivier Zahm (born 25 September 1963) is a French magazine editor, art critic, art director, curator, writer, and photographer He is the co-founder, owner, and current editor-in-chief of the bi-annual art and fashion magazine ''Purple.'' In addi ...

(

Purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...

) * Michael Leon * Nicholas Felton *

kelly Slater Robert Kelly Slater (born February 11, 1972) is an American professional surfer, best known for being crowned World Surf League champion a record 11 times. Slater is widely regarded as the greatest professional surfer of all time. Slater is also ...

Gia Coppola Gian-Carla Coppola (born January 1, 1987) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is a granddaughter of Francis Ford Coppola, the daughter of Jacqui de la Fontaine and Gian-Carlo Coppola and the niece of Roman Coppola and Sofia Copp ...

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. His career spanned from 1979 to 1996, ...

Chris Burkard Chris Burkard is an American photographer and artist, based in the California Central Coast region. He photographs landscape, lifestyle, surf, outdoor, and travel subjects. Burkard takes a photojournalistic approach to make editorial projects, ...

Shaun White Shaun Roger White (born September 3, 1986) is an American former professional snowboarder and skateboarder. He is a five-time Olympian and a three-time Olympic gold medalist in half-pipe snowboarding. He holds the world record for the most X G ...

Carli Lloyd Carli Anne Hollins (; born July 16, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player. She is a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008 and 2012), two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion (2015 and 2019), two-time FIFA Player of the Year ...

* PAM * Willo Perron * Vince Frost *

Platon Platon may refer to: People * Plato (Πλάτων, romanized as ''Plátōn''), Greek philosopher * Plato (comic poet) (fl. 420–391 BCE) * Plato of Bactria (2nd century BCE), Greco-Bactrian king * Plato (exarch) (fl. 645–653), Byzantine exarc ...

* Danny Yount * Scott Dadich (Wired) *

United Visual Artists United Visual Artists (UVA) is a London-based art practice founded in 2003 by British artist Matt Clark (b.1974). UVA's diverse body of work integrates new technologies with traditional media such as painting, sculpture, performance, and site-sp ...

* Jonathan Zawada * Cory Arnold * The Monkeys *

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive epigrams ...

Seb Lester Sebastian "Seb" Lester (born 1972 in London) is an English artist, type designer and calligrapher. Lester is notable for prominent type designs and calligraphic prints. He is also known for his videos of hand drawn calligraphy, often of famous bran ...

* The Talks *

Jeff Soto Jeff Soto (born June 3, 1975) is an American contemporary artist. His distinct color palette, subject matter and technique have been said to bridge the gap between Pop Surrealism and Street Art. Early life Soto was born in Fullerton, Californi ...

Fafi Fafi or fa-fi (pronounced ''fah-fee''), also known as mo-china, is a form of betting played mainly by black South Africans, particularly those living in townships, and is believed to have originated with South Africa's Chinese community. The game ...

* Michael Muller *

Jill Greenberg Jill Greenberg (born July 10, 1967) is a Canadian-born American photographer and Pop artist. She is known for her portraits and fine art work that often features anthropomorphized animals that have been digitally manipulated with painterly effec ...

Ron English Ron English (born June 6, 1959) is an American contemporary artist who explores brand imagery, street art, and advertising. Career English has produced images on the street, in museums, in movies, books and television. He coined the term POPa ...

* Droga 5 *

Kris Moyes Kris Moyes (born 30 October 1978) is an Australian-born director and producer and founder of KMOYES PICTURES. He is perhaps best known for his innovative music videos. In 2005 he directed The Presets "Are You The One?" which utilized a large arr ...

Nabil Nabīl or Nabeel ( ar, نبيل) is a male given name of Arabic origin, meaning "nobility, noble".Online ...

Floria Sigismondi Floria Sigismondi (, born 1965) is an Italian-Canadian film director, screenwriter, music video director, artist, and photographer. She is best known for writing and directing '' The Runaways'', for directing music videos for performers includi ...

* WETA Digital *

Taj Burrow Taj Burrow (born 2 June 1978) is an Australian retired professional surfer. Taj retired from the WSL World Tour in June 2016 where he left a legacy of power and impressive surfing. Early life Burrow was born in Yallingup, Western Australia, A ...

* March Studio *

AKQA AKQA is a digital design and communications agency owned by WPP. It was founded in London in 1994 and expanded internationally in 2001 through a merger with agencies based in the United States and Singapore. It operated as an independent agency ...

R/GA R/GA is a innovation consultancy and digital design and advertising agency, headquartered in New York City, Untited States, with global offices in Austin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, London, United Kingdom, Berlin, São Paulo, Buenos A ...

Tara McPherson Tara McPherson (born April 7, 1976, in San Francisco, California) is an American artist based in New York. McPherson creates paintings, murals, poster art, and designer toys, within the New Contemporary Art movement. Biography Tara McPherson s ...

Moving Picture Company The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is a multinational company providing visual effects, CGI, animation, motion design and other services for the film, TV, brand experience and advertising industries. Their artists have produced Academy Award W ...

(MPC) *

Aaron Rose Aaron Rose is an American film director, artist, exhibition curator and writer. Rose is known as the co-director of ''Beautiful Losers'', a film that focuses on an art movement which includes artists such as Barry McGee, Margaret Kilgallen, S ...

Reg Mombassa Christopher O'Doherty, also known by the pseudonym Reg Mombassa, is a New Zealand-born Australian artist and musician. He is a founding member of the band Mental As Anything and member of Dog Trumpet (alongside his brother Peter O'Doherty). Ear ...

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

Stefan Sagmeister Stefan Sagmeister (born August 6, 1962) is an Austrian graphic designer, storyteller, and typographer based in New York City. In 1993, Sagmeister founded his company, Sagmeister Inc., to create designs for the music industry. He has designed alb ...

References

{{Reflist Design events