The Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Toronto's all-night art festival, kicks off for its eighth year on Saturday.
Toronto's art community will be joined by artists from around the world to showcase contemporary art at this free all-night event that starts at 6:51 p.m. and continues until sunrise.
Approximately 1 million people are expected to visit the more than 110 installations set up across the city. More than 150 volunteers, dressed in white Nuit Blanche jackets, will be scattered about venues to help guide and direct visitors.
While the bulk of the exhibitions are walkable, the TTC will be open overnight on the Bloor-Danforth line from Keele to Woodbine and along the Yonge-University-Spadina line from St. Clair West to Eglinton to help everyone get around.
Download the official map and the official guide prior to visiting to ensure that you do not miss any of your favourites.
And in case you are totally at a loss, check out these 10 must-see events:
1. Forever Bicycles by Ai Weiwei at Nathan Phillips Square. This showcase piece by world renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is sure to inspire as 3,144 interconnected bicycles form a three-dimensional structure to create a stunning visual effect.
2. Familia by Bruno Billio at the Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square. Catch this interactive installation that features mismatched chairs gathered from various households to recreate the moment of a family function. The mirrored floor captures the physical reflection of audience members as the move about the exhibition.
3. PLASTIC BAGS by Pascale Marthine Tayou at Bell Trinity Square, 483 Bay St. This impressive sculture crafted entirely out of plastic bags reminds the audience of how these banal and simple objects further endanger the world’s ecosystem.
4. Built for ART by various artists at 401 Richmond St. W. Enter into the history factory building to explore this interactive installation that includes video, film, performance art, social sculpture and photography. Explore every corner of the building to find art in the least expected places.
5. Your Temper, My Weather by Diane Borsato at the Art Gallery of Ontario, 317 Dundas St. W. One hundred regional beekeepers will be dressed in their bee-suits to participate in united meditation, synchronized stretching, and musical accompaniment. This exhibition is open from 7 p.m. until midnight.
6. Light_Scape by [R]ed[U]x Lab at the BATA Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor St. W. This installation will grow organically the more people interact with it. Easy to handle cubes, each containing tri-colour LED that cycle through several colours, can be moved about. The cubes stick together with Velcro to create a whole new scene.
7. The n Games by various artists at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 952 Queen St. W. This performance art installation is a tournament of invented sports involving audience members as players. The games test players' creative problem solving skills.
8. Out of Site by various artists along Queen St. W. Travel along Queen West to see various interactive and performance based works that draw inspiration from the vibrant neighbourhood. Exhibitions include light projections, performance art and window installations.
9. WATERMARK Cubed by various artists at 234 Bay St. This audiovisual installation features a 3-D immersive performance of scenes from the film WATERMARK. The film explores how humanity interacts with the magnificent and powerful forces of nature.
10. Unofficial exhibitions. Plan as much as you like, some of the highlights of the night are off-the-map and entirely unofficial. From parades of people dressed as robots to smaller impromptu exhibitions, the all-night art festival always attracts – and almost begs for – spontaneous explosions of art.
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BellMedia invites you to attend a free outdoor screening of MuchFACT: Under The Stars this Saturday, October 5 from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. in the parking lot at 299 Queen Street West. Showcasing the best Canadian music artists through video content funded by MuchFACT, the screening is part of the fifth annual Out of Site: Neighbourhood Walks event. Guests can drop in to watch a few music videos, or stay the entire night.
Held in conjunction with the city-wide art crawl Nuit Blanche, Out of Site is an all-night exhibition of art and music by Canadian artists. It is presented by the Queen Street West Business Improvement Area, in association with MuchFACT, Much, and M3.
