The Strand recalls Toronto’s annual all-night contemporary art festival
A Starry, Sleepless Night
By: Emma Lailey
Admiring video installations along Toronto’s Harbour Front at one in the morning, hand in hand with old high school friends while catching up quietly was the sum of my first Nuit Blanche experience.
Decked out in chic fashion (with comfortable shoes) and full of complimentary champagne, our unforgettable evening began at Kevin Cooley’s installation titled “Fallen Water – Niagara Escarpment,” and ended with Pascal Grandmaison and Marie-Clare Blais’s conceptual “Escape du silence, special.”
Navigating through Nuit Blanche was like observational astronomy. The sprawled out exhibits acted as constellations, vibrant in colour and massive in size, causing us to cry out in celebration every time we found a new collection.
There was a subtle flow of adrenaline surrounding the entire sleepless night. I found myself continually laughing as I explained to my visiting friends that no one here calls it “the six,” and again when they posed for pictures, insisting that they were the artwork.
The intense energy of the night spawned from the crowds of passionate art-lovers, who were eager to interact with the exhibits and converse with the artists. The entire city seemed to pause and admire the action.
Still, the appeal wasn’t just the art. Rather, it was the surreal experience of adventuring in the city after-hours, alongside fellow art enthusiasts and the people we loved. It didn’t matter if the art wasn’t “our style” or if we didn’t understand it. We were all together, immersing ourselves in the Toronto nightlife as one, and experiencing an evening of lights and colours that I will certainly never forget.
“Girl Talk” at 401 Richmond
By: Molly Kay
Toronto-based photographer Zahra Saleki presented a walk-in light box installation featuring graffiti drawn in mostly women’s public washrooms and some unisex washrooms in over 500 bars across Toronto, Montreal, and New York. This independent project is an ongoing photo-based exhibit, aiming to capture what the artist describes as “invisible underground feminine culture.” Saleki prints her photos on semi-transparent paper and displays them on the walls and ceiling of a greenhouse, so that viewers can walk through the exhibit and experience “a small part of the subterranean urban culture, which is normally not intended to be permanent or publicly viewed.”
More than a stereotype
By: Erin Calhoun
Nuit Blanche is more than the stereotype of running around the city’s downtown drunk while holding onto your best friend’s hand so you don’t get lost. The entire experience is based upon the city shutting down for the night , while art oozes out of the street and buildings. From an illuminated orb to a river of books, Nuit Blanche is what you make of it. Toronto natives often associate the night with drunken teenagers throwing up in the streets, and art displays that leave you confused and empty. The bustle of a city shutting down overnight and opening itself up to art seekers is an element that attracts those foreign to Toronto. My amazement came from being able to walk down the middle of Queen Street with my friends and strangers, and watch a massive sculpture float over city hall, imitating the death of the sun. I believe Nuit Blanche loses its authenticity when the experience is tainted by those who attend the night with expectations that are way too high, only to be let down by partygoers and art snobs. Nuit Blanche should be left for those who look for the extraordinary in the everyday and overnight.
An adjustment year: standing by a smaller Nuit Blanche
By: Alexandra Scandolo
For many Toronto university students, Nuit Blanche has been ingrained as a tradition each fall. I myself look forward to the first weekend of October because it always means layering jackets, staying up all night with friends, and walking extreme distances for the sake of art. What was once my introduction to the city’s nightlife as an 18-year-old-art-history-degree-hopeful, is now a comfortable routine after three years.
This year’s Nuit Blanche, however, left me nostalgic for editions of the event I had attended in previous years. The loss of Scotiabank’s sponsorship, which was announced in October of last year, could be felt, as there were stretches of the event that lacked exhibits or crowds. It could have been an opportunity to give lesser-known artists a spot in the city’s most popular art event, but it is clear that the event opted for fewer exhibits to accommodate a restructuring year.
While financial setback hindered the typically nuanced execution of Nuit Blanche, there were still satisfying and impactful displays. Rebecca Belmore’s performance piece in the Art Gallery of Ontario was intensely captivating: her physical work was directly complimented by Robert Houle’s Seven Grandfathers paintings that dot the interior of the AGO’s Walker Court. The chance to watch Belmore work reminded me of the importance in Nuit Blanche’s popularity. It has provided a consistent, accessible platform for contemporary art in everyday life. Nuit Blanche is an experience rooted in connecting with art physically and interacting with others. Its standalone exhibits, such as Belmore’s work, facilitated intimate art engagement as always. Hopefully, the event and its curation can return to expansion and avoid faltering further, following this year’s step backward.
Comments are closed.