October 5th, 2009
Nuit Blanche 2009 reaches 1-million Torontonians
By Nicole Bruun-Meyer // 9 Comments
Nuit Blanche has come and gone for another year and I survived the all-nighter with a little help from Tiny Toms Donuts and a Mercy blanket at Fire and Sausage.
This year the festival hit a huge milestone with over a million people roaming the streets of Toronto, an amazing jump from the 425,000 that attended in 2007. While the popularity of the event bodes well for exposure of the artists and the city, I wonder how it has changed the way we experience the installations. Many of the popular pieces housed inside, had lines that could have you waiting for an hour. In other cases the crowds were so large, that the art almost got lost in the visual and literal noise of the city. However, this success has brought contemporary art to a much broader audience and, through its anonymity, given people a chance to engage where they might otherwise have felt that daunting feeling of not understanding.
While some may argue that the event has changed from its almost impromptu nature of a few years ago, the true success of the evening is the way it allows Torontonians to engage with their city on a very different level. It exposes areas of the city that people may not have encountered and, especially this year with the interactive elements, it creates a dialogue in which to interact with others. Not only were there the official applications of "My Night" and "Night Navigator" for iPhones and Blackberries, but also many of the side projects had attendees posting reviews and photos of what they'd seen throughout the event. Not only were the opportunities for interactions on the technical side, but also with the chance for the audience to participate in the art. Many of the installations allowed attendees to sing, dance, ride, crawl, build and play with the art, breaking down the barriers that contemporary art often creates.
Overall, my absolute highlight was the Music Inside/Out at the TELUS Centre. Not only was I impressed by the new addition to The Royal Conservatory, which is understated and elegant, but the light and sound installation was a hauntingly beautiful piece that followed you as you explored the building. This is something you had to attend early enough to catch the real artists, the musicians, before they went home to bed. Later in the night, they were replaced by an electronic soundtrack, which did not have the same power and presence as the live performers.
Although the crowds did become a bit overwhelming, preventing me from seeing some key installations, it was the vibe and the buzz from all the attendees that really made the night. It is always exciting to see people occupying otherwise empty spaces around the city, just too bad it's only one night per year.
What were some of your highlights from Nuit Blanche 2009 and how do you think it could be improved for 2010?
Photo of Music Inside/Out in Koerner Hall by Nicole Bruun-Meyer
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I always love Nuit Blanche, and anybody who describes it as "underwhelming" has only themselves to blame!
I enjoyed myself but mostly because of the smaller unofficial events I came across by exploring around Queen Street West and Liberty Village. I spent time downtown as well, seeing the featured exhibits, but was generally unimpressed. The point zero installation at City Hall was a step down from last year's more inventive and fun Stereoscope. The crowds were far more manageable out west and the installations more approachable and interactive.
I think the event needs to respond to the crowds. A million people on the street needs bigger and more responsive featured attractions. For example, as much as I liked the idea of Nite Lite in Trinity Bellwoods it, like a lot of the exhibits, could have been larger to prevent it being overwhelmed with people, perhaps stretching 10 or more metres long instead of just one relatively small board. It was the same last year with exhibits like the waterfall made out of plastic bottles on the side of the Ontario Power Generation building. The size of that did nothing to transform its surroundings or reinterpret the space. Rather than being 10ft tall it should have been at least two or three stories taller. As it was the waterfall was dominated by the space it was in and simply looked tacked on.
Overall I think the exhibits need to be responsive to the city and stay ahead of the crowds with larger-scale installations that really take advantage of the city as a canvas and leave us with a whole new perspective on our space.
Shutting down Bay Street was a great idea and really helped with the crowding downtown but I don't think there's a solution to Queen Street, it was faster to walk than attempt to drive or take a streetcar. The smart people jumped down to King which was far less crowded.
"I always love Nuit Blanche, and anybody who describes it as “underwhelming†has only themselves to blame!"
How am I to blame if I thought the art I saw this year was underwhelming? Explain the logic on that for me.
I know you are being semi serious but take a stab at it. : )
I hope that they close queen street next year except for the ttc. Opening those lanes to people instead of cars will make it so much easier to get around.
Kevin:
I can understand your point that having fun depends on open-mindedness and a good attitude. I did manage to have fun chatting with friends in some of the lineups.
However, as I had commented on Monday's headlines, I felt many of these pieces failed to surpass my expectations and turn into something sublime.
The oddest thing was falling asleep on the floor in Union Station while that sound installation was going on. It made for a weird dream.
The Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art was a cool find and the line wasn't very long, although I don't think it was "official" Nuit Blanche.
Loved:
- The community and wonderfulness of City Hall
- No traffic on Bay
- Apology Project
- Bicitycle: especially the couch on wheels
- More restaurants open (for me, a great meal in Liberty Village)
- Being up late.
- That a million people can be out at night and nothing much bad happens.
Loathed:
- TTC
- poor maps in the guidebook
- security guards everywhere
- Outlying projects impossible to get to
- crazy lineups
- financial district atmosphere
I love Nuit Blanche. I've been involved as a performer in two of them. I have to agree with scottd, however. The artwork was not any-kind-of-whelming, it seemed to just exist for crowds to have an excuse to congregate.
I blame myself for not being ready for the crowds, but I wonder, were the teens who were throwing empty beer bottles against the side of Old City Hall there to experience art, or just have a good time? Or the drunk guy who fell at the Sheraton Centre, cut his leg and then stumbled around for 10 minutes before anyone went for help? Nothing wrong with either, I suppose. :S
I disagree that people need anonymity to get involved - all we need is safety. We don't need to be anonymous to feel safe, we need to feel like we have the chance to understand, which, with my experience on Saturday/Sunday, didn't happen.
It's a tough call - we want to get people invovled, but at what cost? (Seriously... like scottd said, someone take a stab at these questions we're asking!)
Oh well... until next year!
I found transit over-crowded and very tardy. We waited over an hour for a streetcar eastbound from Liberty Village from 2 to 3 AM - ended up walking. Understandably, with such a massive turnout, perhaps the TTC underestimated the number of people who would need transportation. Perhaps in preparation for next year they could plan for even greater ridership capacity.
Comment by PT
October 5, 2009 | 1:15 pm