Capture the Spirit transformed festive retail spaces into immersive community photo activations, giving audiences the opportunity to step inside an artwork and become part of the experience through art, photography, and shared experience.
Delivered as a dual-sided installation, the work combined two distinct visual worlds within a single cohesive activation. One side featured a traditional, photorealistic environment that celebrated the warmth, nostalgia, and familiarity of each festive season through richly detailed, atmospheric design. The opposing side offered a vibrant, neon-inspired fantasy environment, where bold colour, futuristic elements, and contemporary visual language reimagined seasonal celebration in a more unexpected and expressive form.
The activation evolved across the calendar, launching first as a Christmas experience at Keilor Central, before transforming for Lunar New Year at Central West. This seasonal shift saw the artwork reconfigured to reflect each cultural moment, extending the life of the installation while offering audiences a refreshed visual experience across both events. The installation balanced accessibility with spectacle, providing both a familiar festive aesthetic and a more imaginative, contemporary counterpart.
Across both locations, approximately 4,800 people engaged with the project over six weeks.
Capture the Spirit was a strong example of how immersive art, public participationand creative activation could come together to create an experience that was accessible, memorable and made for sharing.
