I guess I’m late to the party in posting Nuit Blanche photos. For those not aware, Nuit Blanche is an all-night art event in Toronto (copied from a number of European cities), where art installations, galleries and clubs are open from sunset to sunrise the next day, and it’s all free.
This year’s event supposedly attracted almost 1 million people over the course of the evening. The events were divided into three “zones” and since we live smack in the centre of one, we decided to stay close to home and only do what we could walk to.
It was an enjoyable evening, with only a few disappointments. We walked along Queen West, but didn’t go into any of the galleries that were open because they were all just too packed with people. We also didn’t stay out all night, although we did consider getting up early and returning to the nearby stadium for the mascot exhibit, just to see how many of them were still dancing 12 hours later.
The Imagine Peace billboard by Yoko One. Below this exhibit was one of the few interactive pieces where people could write out a wish on a tag and attach it to a tree.
Getting ready to smash stuff. This just reminded me too much of old Survival Research Laboratories performances, only without the mechanical skill. The purpose was to raise the scissor crane and drop junk (old computers, toys, etc) into the target to see how much they would smash.
In the spirit of Indian mandalas, this entire design is made from coconut. Fortunately, it didn’t rain.
The mascot exhibit was our favourite of the evening, just because people were really getting into it, dancing and cheering along to the music. It was meant to be a mascot marathon with the music slowing down as the hours passed.
Light show at the Drake. Dunno what this one was called, but it was impressive from across the street.
Day of the Dead coffin at PlayDead Cult.
We ended the evening around the corner from home at PlayDead Cult where Stu and Bean and co. put on an awesome show with full-on Day of the Dead displays, performances, installations and even a “paint your own skull” area that was popular with the kids.