Sydney Opera House lights up with iPad art as Apple marks 50 years

Apple is celebrating its 50th birthday in spectacular style, with the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House lighting up this week as part of a global creative collaboration.

Across March 25 to 27, the Eastern sails will host “Illuminating Creativity”, a collection of digital artworks created on iPad using the Australian-designed app Procreate. The projection marks the start of a year-long collaboration between Apple and the Sydney Opera House, celebrating creativity and the tools people use to bring ideas to life.

Earlier this month, Australians were invited into Apple Stores to create their own digital artwork on iPad, with selected submissions included as part of the projection lighting up Sydney Harbour this week.

Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron AM said the partnership highlights the shared creative spirit between the two organisations.

“The Sydney Opera House, like Apple, is synonymous with creativity. This collaboration is a natural fit between two organisations that continue to search for new ways for people to experience the world,” she said.

Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, Greg Joswiak, said creativity has always been central to Apple’s story.

“For 50 years, Apple has been at the forefront of empowering creativity, providing tools that allow people to imagine, design, and share their unique visions with the world,” he said.

Among the Australian artists featured is Jonathan Zawada from Northern NSW, whose work draws inspiration from the ground beneath our feet, and Perth-based Rebecca Mills with the underwater-themed “It’s Beautiful Down Here”.

First Nations artist Ryhia Dank, a Gudanji, Wakaja and Kalkadoon woman, brings cultural storytelling to the display with artwork following the journey of a goanna through the bush.

Sydney-based Japanese artist Kentaro Yoshida’s piece “A FRAME” captures the feeling of the Australian surf, cleverly designed to complement the shape of the Opera House sails, while Phoebe Paradise’s “A Brisbane Story” offers a glimpse of suburban life with a quiet balcony scene under the night sky.

The Sydney installation is part of a broader global celebration of Apple’s 50th anniversary, with creative events taking place in cities including New York, where Alicia Keys performed at Grand Central Station, along with activations across China, Bangkok and Seoul.

Apple officially turns 50 on April 1, but in Sydney, the celebrations are already lighting up the harbour.