BY: JOCELYN KENT
As October begins, MMSt students new to Toronto have just gotten use to exploring the city and its major museums and galleries. Now get ready to explore a new urban art scene… after dark?
From sunset Saturday, October 3rd to sunrise Sunday, October 4th, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche will take over downtown Toronto with its 10th annual celebration of contemporary art. The 2015 event will transform the streets with over 110 projects created by 400 artists, including 60 projects by the local art community and the City of Toronto’s four curated exhibitions.
The past nine years has seen a wide range of installations pop up in unexpected places – from staircases to parking garages to demolition sites. Traditional art venues have taken part as well with dozens of museums, galleries and cultural institutions hosting major one-night-only exhibits.
To celebrate Nuit Blanche’s 10th anniversary, here’s a look at highlights from the previous nine years, including two collaborative efforts with Toronto museums:
BETWEEN DOORS
Labspace Studio, 2014
In this interactive installation from last year, participants chose their own adventure through a series of doors. Overhead, a large screen tracked and analyzed their decisions.
 |
| Do you really have a choice? Image Source. |
FOREVER BICYCLES
Ai Weiwei, 2013
3,144 interconnected bicycles made up this enormous installation by renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei.
 |
| Multiple viewpoints create the illusion of movement. Image Source. |
MUSEUM OF THE END OF THE WORLD
Barr Gilmore, 2012
A maze of striking signage beneath City Hall encouraged visitors to ruminate about Doomsday and what it is about the end of the world that captures the human imagination.
 |
| A condemned cabinet of curiosities. Image Source. |
L'ECHO-L'EAU
Richard Purdy, 2011
After flooding 28,000 square feet of the exhibition space with a centimetre of water, visitors were invited to cross the reflecting pool barefoot or in their rain boots.
 |
| Unconventional log drivers. Image Source. |
XXIX
Laurel MacDonald, 2010
In this video installation, 29 Canadian performers sang songs in the language of their personal heritage.
 |
| 29 loudspeakers for 29 singers. Image Source. |
A.R.R.R.T. THE EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT
sheVISONS, 2009
Aerial performers represented the route from amoeba to the human form in a mix of video installation and performance art.
 |
| Charles Darwin meets Cirque du Soleil. Image Source. |
I, THE WORLD, THINGS, LIFE
Jacob Dalgren, 2008
This geometric pattern consisted of hundreds of dartboards mounted side by side. Throughout the night, visitors threw darts at the work, thereby altering it with accumulative participation.
 |
| Bullseyes everywhere! Image Source. |
EVENT HORIZON
Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins, 2007
A contemporary pieta where no belief system had primacy.
 |
| E.T. and Yoda are from the same galaxy after all. Image Source. |
A HISTORY SHOW
SPIN Gallery, 2006
In a group exhibition of dozens of works, artists made powerful visual commentaries on the construction and representation of history by the ruling elite.
 |
| Skulls, made of newsprint, but no less captivating. Image source. |
Have a favourite art installation from a previous year? Share it in the comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.