News Release – City of Toronto
The 18th annual Nuit Blanche Toronto will once again transform the city this fall, from sunset to sunrise, starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 5, and concluding at 7 a.m. on Sunday, October 6. This year’s theme Bridging Distance will explore the different ways we experience distance and reimagine how we can bridge distance through art. Entry to the City of Toronto’s biggest contemporary art festival is free, with almost 100 art projects and performances from close to 150 artists.
Art installations throughout the city will evolve over the course of the night through live interaction by the audience, artists and performers. New works by artists and collectives, educational institutions and neighbourhood groups can be found in shared spaces including parks, galleries, storefronts, office towers, streets and sidewalks.
Along the waterfront
A focal point of the all-night celebration will be along Toronto’s waterfront, making it a centralized destination that will feature a new event hub. Conceived by Nuit Blanche Artistic Director Laura Nanni, it will be a place to meet and connect, with several pop-up performances, interactive experiences and talks. There will be three distinct exhibitions developed by esteemed local curators Danica Pinteric, Su-Ying Lee, and Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware, creating a continuous experience anchored by the community, stretching from Little Norway Park in the west to Sherbourne Common in the east.
Theme and exhibitions
- The Weight of Levity, curated by Su-Ying Lee: Situated around the revitalized Canada Malting Company Silos, Billy Bishop Airport, Toronto Music Garden and in Lake Ontario, the exhibition draws out the rich potential of the location’s great heights and watery depths to explore the relationships between opposing physical and emotional positions.
- And the spaces between us smiled, curated by Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware: Situated around HTO Park, Harbourfront Centre and Harbour Square Park West, the exhibition honours the land, water and incredible resistance movements in T’karonto. Artists celebrate bridging across distance and difference, the practice of uniting and building a new world together.
- Cat’s Cradle, curated by Danica Pinteric: From Sugar Beach to Sherbourne Common, projects evolve through the night, emphasizing themes of collectivity, flux and interdependence as vital strategies for bridging distance. Inspired by the popular string game, seven artists echo the game’s fluid nature with performance, interactive sound work and sculptural installations.
Notable Highlights
For 2024, Nuit Blanche Toronto continues to amplify creative voices and perspectives of local, national and international artists:
- North American debut of Coalescing Towards by Milan-based artist and choreographer Michele Rizzo, a durational performance investigating concepts of repetition and unison, developed in collaboration with Toronto Dance Theatre.
- World premiere of Amphipoda Songs by Oaxaca based, Argentinian artist and filmmaker Carolina Fusilier, a water performance on Lake Ontario made with floating sculptures, lights and soundscapes commemorating species made extinct due to human exploitation of rivers, lakes, and seas with a haunting soundscape composed by Karen Ng and Brandon Valdivia.
- Canadian debut of Robert by MacArthur Foundation Grant winner and Bahamian born conceptual artist and trained astronaut Tavares Strachan. The illuminated anatomy, suspended in the air, that will be viewable from across the lake is both a tribute and an effigy of the first African American astronaut.
- World premiere of fraction of another sun by New York City-based Toronto artist Kara Springer, a newly commissioned performative multimedia installation, where a series of large double-sided light boxes respond to the artist’s breath, brightening with each inhalation and dimming with each exhalation.
More information about Nuit Blanche Toronto and a complete list of art projects can be found on the Nuit Blanche webpage.
Expanded Nuit Talks, Tours and Workshops programming will offer even more ways to experience connection, learning, and behind the scenes access, before, during and after the event. Details to sign up are available on the City’s Nuit Blanche webpage.
