The City of Toronto today released the entire artistic program for the eighth edition of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, which will take place Saturday, October 5 from 6:51 p.m. until sunrise. This year’s lineup includes 112 art projects created by more than 500 local, national and international artists who will transform the streets of Toronto for a single night.
“With over a million people attending Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, and 20 per cent of them tourists, it’s a great event both culturally and economically for Toronto,” said Mayor Rob Ford. “An event of this scale puts Toronto on the map globally as a cultural tourism destination and strongly positions us as a creative hub internationally.”
“Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is a collaboration of the City of Toronto, the art communities, corporate sponsors and hundreds of volunteers who believe in the success of the event year after year,” said Councillor Gary Crawford (Ward 36 Scarborough Southwest). “By making contemporary art available to a mass audience, the city comes alive and we all benefit.”
“We believe embracing the arts pushes us to develop new perspectives and inspires us to pursue our passions. That’s why we’re proud that Scotiabank Nuit Blanche gives people the chance to discover art in their community,” said Jacqueline Ryan, Scotiabank’s Vice President of Sponsorship and Partnership Programs. “We’re also thrilled to present 1nspired Night, a new installation that allows the public to connect more deeply with Scotiabank Nuit Blanche this year.”
Again this year, the City is producing an exciting lineup of contemporary art projects.
The City-produced component of the event will feature three curated exhibitions.
1. Off to a flying start
An exhibition curated by Ami Barak, an independent curator and lecturer at the Paris Sorbonne University, “Off to a flying start” celebrates the centenary of artist Marcel Duchamp’s first ready-made art installation. This exhibition at Toronto City Hall/Nathan Phillips Square brings the ready-made art found in galleries and museums back to the streets.
2. PARADE
Patrick Macaulay, head of Visual Arts at Harbourfront Centre, curates an exhibition called PARADE. The format is archetypal, the route is set, the floats are complete, but unlike a conventional parade, the audience becomes the procession. PARADE will be situated along University Avenue from Queen Street West extending north to Charles Street West.
3. Romancing the Anthropocene
Curated by Ivan Jurakic, Director/Curator at the University of Waterloo Art Gallery, Waterloo, and Crystal Mowry, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions, Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery, present Romancing the Anthropocene. This exhibition, on King Street from Yonge Street to John Street, acknowledges the triumph of science and human achievement but also suggests a cautionary message about the destruction of natural habitat.
Extended projects in 2013
This year, a number of artist projects will be extended for one week. If you want to see some of this year’s projects in a different light, visit them until October 14. Artists whose work will be extended include Ai Weiwei, Boris Achour, Cal Lane, Janet Biggs, Pascale Marthine Tayou and Tadashi Kawamata. A complete list of times and locations is available on the website.
Nuit Talks
A series of free themed talks are scheduled to run October 3, 4 and 5. The talks allow for frank discussion, and a behind-the-scenes look at the artists and their work.
Nuit Talks themes include: a celebration of the ready-made, the use of science, technology, the role of history and past experience in contemporary art. The event curators will share the artistic narratives of their exhibitions and this year a special presentation will take place in partnership with the AGO’s First Thursdays. A full list of events, speakers, locations, ticket information and times will be available at www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/2013-event/nuit-talks.html.
The BATA Shoe Museum, the Gardiner Museum and the AGO along with 401 Richmond , the Gladstone Hotel, TIFF Bell Lightbox, Artscape at Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park and Wychwood Barns and many more organizations are hosting important projects in their unique venues. Entire neighbourhoods including St Clair West, Queen West and the Distillery District will feature multiple installations by local artists.
Full details are now available at http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca. Look for updates on Facebook at facebook.com/sbnuitblancheTO, follow us on Twitter at @sbnuitblancheTO, #snbTO, search and share photos on Instagram #snbTO.
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche is Toronto’s annual all-night celebration of contemporary art, produced by the City of Toronto in collaboration with Toronto’s arts community. Since 2006, the event has featured more than 850 official art installations, created by nearly 3,500 artists and has generated more than $138 million in economic impact for Toronto.