HAYMARKET 2050 is a multidisciplinary creative placemaking project that reimagines Sydney’s Haymarket through augmented memory and speculative futures. Commissioned by 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art and led by interdisciplinary creative directors Gene Leung and Dan Tse of INJURY and REAL PARENT, the project unfolds across immersive exhibition-making and a site-responsive augmented reality walking experience in Chinatown.

Drawing on the fluid ontology of Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream, Haymarket 2050 considers whether Haymarket is the city we physically inhabit, or the memory it continues to carry. The project collapses past, present and future into a layered, immersive environment in which late 1990s Cantonese culture — Hong Kong cinema, Mahjong tables, HK cafes and Bauhinia blossoms — flows into speculative 2050 imaginaries. Cultural memory is not positioned as archival residue, but as an active, generative force shaping possible futures.

Inspired by the suspended realities of cyber cinema, the digital works situate audiences within a world that feels simultaneously lived, remembered and digitally reconfigured. Lion gates ascend into sky gardens, Tai Chi unfolds within animated blossoms, and a fantastical mascot circulates through gachapon capsules as a symbol of qi, balance and collective luck. Through this interplay of digital filmmaking, 3D worldbuilding and sculptural fashion aesthetics, INJURY and REAL PARENT propose a city in which history and speculation co-exist in dynamic tension.

Extending beyond the gallery, the project activates Haymarket’s streetscape through an augmented reality walking tour developed in collaboration with AR artist Melanie Huang Buntine, with technical support from Culture Vault. Visitors are invited to engage Chinatown’s cultural landmarks through mobile interactions, unlocking digital overlays and a bespoke gachapon experience that bridges physical space and speculative narrative.

HAYMARKET 2050 positions Chinatown not as a fixed heritage site, but as a living, evolving cultural ecosystem. In this vision, memory is participatory, the city is porous, and the future remains in continuous dialogue with the past.

GUIDE TO ACCESS THE AUGMENTED-REALITY SITES

1. Scan this QR code or visit www.haymarket2050.4aplus.com.au to access the Augmented-Reality web-based app.
2. Allow all requested permission (including access to your camera and GPS location services).
3. Follow the online map within the app and visit all of the five sites which marking significant historical and cultural sites in Sydney’s Chinatown. 
4. At the site, activate the app and point your camera to its surrounding to find a floating digital character. Position the circle on the character and tap on the circle to activate and watch a digital video artwork. You may need to reload the app when you arrive at a new AR site to refresh the GPS location.
5. Upon completion of each video, you can collect a digital token via Culture Vault’s pop-up window. Login/Create a Culture Vault account to collect the digital token. 
6. Collecting all five tokens on Culture Vault allows you to claim a physical collectible artwork at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art. Return to 4A during gallery opening hours, login to your Culture Vault account (www.culturevault.com) and verify all the digital collectibles with the 4A staff to claim the artwork.