Nuit Blanche was launched in 2006, and since then, the multi-media art event runs annually for one night from dusk ‘til dawn. It showcases the best and brightest artists from Toronto and around the world in street installations—and it’s free! Since its inception, “Nuit,” as it has come to be affectionately nicknamed, grew from 300 artists to approximately 400, with installations all around the city. In 2014, the sleepless night attracted a million people, including around 200,000 visitors from out of town. Though this might sound exciting, some Torontonians say that Nuit Blanche has become too big for its own good.
The majority of the art I saw was impressive. The only problem was, I barely saw anything because of how crowded and spread out the event was. I set out from my residence in Victoria College expecting to be able to walk around and stumble upon some installations. After fifteen minutes of walking, I still hadn’t seen anything.
The first piece of art I saw was in Queen’s Park by Tania Bruguera, a Cuban installation and performance artist whose art is usually political. Her installation Untitled asked spectators to vote on whether or not physical geographical borders should exist. The installation felt poignant and relevant given the recent refugee crisis in Syria, and Bruguera’s objective in setting up the voting booth was to prove how borders are kept at the cost of human lives.
In Nathan Phillips Square, I saw Sean Martindale’s and JP King’s There Is No Away, a sculpture composed of compressed garbage blocks piled on top of each other. Martindale is an interdisciplinary artist who often focuses on ecological and social issues. The objective of the piece was to show that when something is discarded, it still needs to go somewhere. His project highlights the massive waste cities dispose of in environmentally harmful landfills.
The next stop was OCAD, which unfortunately had a lineup that circled all around McCaul Street. When I finally entered the building, the first and most prominent installation was a video montage by the name of Cthuluscene. It consisted of a digitally manufactured video of a fictional planet, complete with accompanying sound effects, projected on a huge wall. While the installation itself was impressive, I’m not sure it was worth the long wait.
Finally, I found the only installation that I had actually planned to visit: Light Cave by the Los Angeles based group FriendsWithYou. The group was founded by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III, who aim to spread a positive message through “joyous interaction.” Their work has gained international recognition, and the Light Cave has been exhibited in other cities like Dallas and New York City. The larger-than-life sculpture is an inflatable monument, lit up with vibrant colours. It has no distinct shape or form, but it was intended to be a “cathedral of the spirit,” all the more majestic in the dark Toronto night. This particular piece was a good way to end my Nuit Blanche trek for the year.
With the recent announcement of Scotiabank dropping their sponsorship of Nuit Blanche, the event’s future is uncertain. Supposedly the art event doesn’t fit with the bank’s “sponsorship strategy,” ending the decade-long partnership. Currently, Nuit Blanche has not announced any new sponsors, but they have set the date for next year. However, the unfortunate incidents that occurred this year at Dundas Square, in which rowdy event-goers became involved in a violent altercation with police, shows that Nuit Blanche may have begun to stray from its original intentions.
Article by Elena Senechal-Becker
