About Nuit Blanche
Sunset to Sunrise / September 30 to October 1, 2006
| exhibitions | installations | performances | discoveries |
Paris, France introduced Nuit Blanche to the world in October 2002. In Paris, this annual event is
at once a “high” art event (past commissions included works by Bill Viola, Sophie Calle,
and James Turell) and a free celebration easily accessible to the public (more than a million Parisians
participate each year).
This all-night free celebration of contemporary art has been such an enormous success in Paris that
many cities have followed suit. In 2006, Toronto joined the international ranks of Brussels, Rome, Montreal,
Madrid and Riga (among others) to become the most recent Nuit Blanche city.
"I'm pleased and proud to have been able to be part of the inaugural Nuit Blanche in Toronto," said Mayor David Miller.
"For one exciting night Toronto became a city alive with culture and buzzing with excitement. Nuit Blanche really
showcased Toronto's proud and vibrant arts scene and I want to thank all those who participated and attended for
making it a success. I look forward to many more nights like this."
Rita Davies, Executive Director of Toronto Culture added, "Nuit Blanche has been a superb finale to a spectacle year
of culture in Toronto. The city's Poet Laureate, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, often says that Toronto needs to fall in love
with itself. With Nuit Blanche I think that's exactly what happened . . . the joy, the wonder, the reverie . . . it was magical."
Christophe Girard, Deputy Mayor of Paris, who dreamt up the idea of Nuit Blanche in 2002, travelled to Toronto to help launch the event.
"Toronto certainly loves the magic and the mysteries of the night," said Christophe Girard. "Its people prove they love to
be together to share and discover its beauties and secrets in the name of art. Now, Nuit Blanche is part of your history."
"Toronto's Nuit Blanche was a moveable feast of contemporary arts and culture," said Rick Waugh, President & CEO of Scotiabank,
the event's title sponsor. "What a unique way to recognize, celebrate and experience the tremendous contribution Toronto's
creative community makes to the city's heart and soul."
Line ups at almost all participating venues offered a strong indication that Nuit Blanche had surpassed even the most conservative
audience estimates. Streets were clogged with people experiencing everything from: a fog sculpture; to night-time swimming; to
a corn roast in Yorkville; to ballroom dancing; to large-scale projections of sheep on the Planetarium Roof. There was art in
car washes, art on outdoor billboards, art on street corners and art in parks.
Toronto's response to the first annual Nuit Blanche was beyond anything we had anticipated, said Jaye Robinson, Director of
Toronto Special Events. Preliminary attendance figures estimated at 425,000 indicate that the event significantly surpassed
the projected audience of 250,000.
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche was a Live With Culture initiative developed to demonstrate the City of Torontos commitment to the
arts. Live With Culture is a 16-month celebration of Toronto's extraordinary arts and cultural communities. From
September 2005 to December 2006, Live With Culture showcases the vibrant and diverse cultural activities happening in the city
each and every day. Events initiated by the City of Toronto and the community are united under one umbrella campaign to raise
awareness of Toronto's thriving cultural scene.
_______________________________________________
The Event
For this event, Toronto has been divided into three zones to accommodate more than 130 Nuit Blanche destinations.
Within each zone were a mix of curated exhibitions and independent projects. The challenge was to explore
them all in one night!
Nuit Blanche Curated Exhibitions
Under the direction of five Toronto-based curators, 26 temporary public art installations by local, national
and international artists were commissioned within three outdoor exhibition sites. Individual exhibitions within
each of the three zones featured a diverse range of Canadian and international artists.
Curators Fern Bayer, Peggy Gale and Chrysanne Stathacos linked the present to a distant past
still echoing through the Bloor-Yorkville neighbourhood. Curator Kim Simon transformed the grand civic space of University
Avenue and McCaul Street into a place of wonder. Curator Clara Hargittay led you on a journey of discovery of Queen
Street West, from the region's historic aboriginal past to the present, finding common threads in Canadians' diverse
experiences locally and beyond.
Pasts Re-framed
[Zone A: Bloor / Yorkville]
Curators: Fern Bayer, Peggy Gale & Chrysanne Stathacos
Artists: Ron Benner, General Idea, Jamelie Hassan, Holger Lippmann & Alekos Hofstetter, Annette Mangaard & Ihor
Holubizky, Kelly Mark, Fujiko Nakaya, Emily Pohl-Weary, Michael Snow, Andrew Zealley & Chrysanne
Stathacos
Civic Insomnia
[Zone B: McCaul / University]
Curator: Kim Simon
Artists: Christina Battle, Adrian Blackwell, Diane Borsato, Chris Curreri, John Greyson & David Wall,
Diane Landry, Tanya Mars with Gale Allen, Samuel Roy-Bois
Searching for the "Soul" of Queen Street West
[Zone C: Queen Street W]
Curator: Clara Hargittay
Artists: John Abrams, Carl Beam, Rebecca Belmore & Osvaldo Yero, Michael Belmore, Dana Claxton, Andrew
Danson, Bonnie Devine, Sara Diamond, Edgar Heap of Birds, Richard Fung, Gyula Kalko, Istvan Kantor, Kevin
Krivel & David Warne, Shelley Niro, Paul Perrier, Vincenzo Pietropaolo, Thom Sokoloski, Greg Staats,
José Angel Toirac, Badanna Zack
My Secret City
Curator: Jessica Rose
An exhibition hidden inside the three Nuit Blanche Zones which investigates public space through
the private and sometimes secretive imaginings of 20 Toronto artists, many of them the driving forces behind
the younger cultural movements in the city.
Artists: A Collection of Foreign Objects, Adam & Dave, Dean Baldwin, Bantam AAA Art Team, Bruno
Billio, Ulysses Castellanos, Emelie Chhangur, Linda Duvall, nichola feldman-kiss, Anthea Foyer, Erika
James, Lewis Kaye, Maria Legault & Auriane Sokoloski, Darren O’Donnell, Christie Pearson, Micheline
Roi, Fedora Romita, Sabrina Saccoccio, The Vendart Project.
Independent Projects
Nuit Blanche included close to 100 city-wide destinations featuring an exciting variety of Toronto’s
cultural and art venues, educational institutions, art galleries and unique spaces. Each partner opened
their doors all night long, admission was free and many have collaborated with new and established artists
to offer unique experiences. From interactive video art, ghost tours and avant-garde film screenings
to progression painting, shadow art, midnight poetry and unique music-making projects, these Independent
Projects made September 30th an unforgettable evening.
|
