About Scotiabank Nuit Blanche
CITY OF TORONTO MESSAGE
I am proud to welcome Scotiabank Nuit Blanche back to Toronto for a seventh year.
One of the most popular events in Toronto’s cultural line-up, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche transforms
Toronto into a unique contemporary art experience for residents and visitors to enjoy. Annually, nearly
one million people take part in this innovative event that takes place in a single night.
Since 2006, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche has showcased more than 700 official art projects created by close
to 3,000 local, national and international artists, resulting in more than $100 million in economic gain
for the city.
The generous support of cultural agencies, corporate sponsors, arts organizations and the commitment
of hundreds of volunteers make this event possible year after year. I extend my thanks to everyone involved
for making this event a resounding success.
On behalf of Toronto City Council, I encourage everyone to come out on September 29, 2012 and experience
our vibrant city all night long.
Yours truly,
Mayor Rob Ford
City of Toronto
SCOTIABANK MESSAGE
Welcome to the seventh Scotiabank Nuit Blanche celebration, Toronto’s dusk-to-dawn interactive
platform for contemporary arts and culture. We are proud to partner with the City of Toronto as the title
sponsor of this inspiring event – it’s a true showcase for our city and the many gifted artists
who live and work here.
Free of charge to the public, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche makes art accessible to everyone and we see tremendous
value in that spirit of inclusion, which is part of our culture at Scotiabank.
This event is quite the adventure – a chance to experience life in Toronto in a whole new way.
We hope you enjoy a magical evening!
Rick Waugh,
President & Chief Executive Officer
Scotiabank
CCCA Documentation Team
City of Toronto Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Website
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche Toronto Partners and Sponsors
Event History
2006
From dusk until the early pre-dawn hours on September 30, 2006, Toronto buzzed with excitement as Scotiabank
Nuit Blanche was first unleashed on an unsuspecting city. Torontonians left behind the comfort of their
beds en masse, as 425,000 people ventured out onto the city's streets for an all-night exploration and
celebration of contemporary art.
As remarkable and distinctive as the art was, the magic came from the audience response and interaction.
Most importantly, through this event a new audience was introduced to contemporary art by making it fun,
engaging and accessible.
This event brought together a wide range of sectors and the exceptional talents of more than 400 artists
and curators, 300 onsite logistical staff, 200 docents and volunteers, 87 galleries, museums and art
institutions, and 13 corporate sponsors and media partners.
Within hours of the sun rising on October 1, hundreds of enthusiastic e-mails, letters and phone calls
poured in from artists, participants, volunteers, councillors and event attendees. The inaugural edition
of this event received widespread acclaim and accolades.
2007
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2007 took place on September 29 and featured a 45% increase in projects, a 55%
increase in community participation and close to double the audience attendance, securing its place as
one of Canada's major cultural events. Streets overflowing with 800,000 revellers experiencing contemporary
art from dusk-to-dawn offered a strong indication that it had reached a critical mass of popularity and
participation - no small feat for an event only in its second year.
In only two years, the economic impact of the event increased from $1 million to $4.9 million. More
than 500 artists and 125 cultural institutions participated in the 2007 event, and the TTC remained open
all night for the first time in decades.
Support from the arts community, corporate sponsors and the City of Toronto has been unparalleled
- providing the resources to further expand the event into new exhibition sites, to improve traffic flow
and increase the scale and scope of monumental art projects. Additionally, a Volunteer Advisory Board
was established to assist in selecting and guiding curators and the curatorial process for years to come.
2008
On Saturday, October 4, 2008 close to a million revellers took to Toronto's streets to participate in
this playful sunset-to-sunrise celebration. The event brought together the exceptional talents of more
than 750 artists and curators, 450 docents and volunteers, 92 galleries, museums, cultural and educational
institutions and neighbourhoods, and 24 corporate sponsors and media partners.
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2008 brought 136,000 tourists to the city. The event generated $16.7 million
in local economic impact (direct, indirect and induced), $18.3 million direct spending (visitor and operational
spending) and 244 jobs for the community, while adding $7.6 million to the Federal and Provincial tax
coffers.
2009
Toronto's fourth annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche engaged audiences in a massive participatory celebration
of contemporary art. Building on the success of past event's interactive art projects, the concept of
audience participation was taken to a whole new level. On Saturday, October 3, 2010 close to a million
members of the public literally became the art they had ventured out all night to see. New interactive
tools including the Night Navigator iPhone/Blackberry app and My Night itinerary encouraged everyone
to share pictures and schedules, tweet, text and talk to each other as they explored the city well into
the wee hours of the morning.
Survey results indicate that over 100,000 tourists were motivated to visit Toronto to attend the event,
helping to generate $18 million in local economic impact, an increase of 24 per cent over last year,
as a result of visitors traveling longer distances to attend the event and an increase in overnight hotel
stays.
2010
Toronto's playful sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art, returned on October 2, 2010. The
fifth edition of the popular all-nighter featured more than 130 projects created by nearly 500 artists
and required the help of more than 450 volunteers and 14 corporate sponsors and media partners.
New for 2010, Share Your Night
captured the dynamic pulse of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche through shared
communication. The audience shared their photos, comments and favourite moments with the whole city through
this collaborative real-time journaling platform.
To celebrate the 5th year of the event, a retrospective exhibition featuring photos, videos and previously
mounted works from 2006-2009 ran from September 20 - October 3. Additionally, a series of lectures entitled
Nuit Talks were held in the week
preceding the event and encouraged dialogues that explored the boundaries of art in public space.
Nearly one million people attended the 2010 event, including close to 140,000 out of town visitors.
Based on results from an Ipsos Reid survey, the economic impact of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2010 was calculated
to be $34.7 million with an additional $4.4 million spillover impact for the Province of Ontario - a
48 per cent increase over 2009.
2011
On Saturday, October 1, 2011 Toronto was transformed by hundreds of artists for the city's sixth annual
sunset-to-sunrise celebration of contemporary art.
Artists and curators took the concept of audience engagement to new levels. They flew, created massive
fire blasts, and walked through water. The public contributed their voices, faces and muscle by the tens
of thousands as they animated and collaborated with Scotiabank Nuit Blanche's many interactive art works.
A collaborative undertaking, Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2011 brought together the exceptional talents
of more than 500 artists and curators, dozens of galleries, museums, cultural and educational institutions
and neighbourhoods, 500 volunteers and 25 corporate sponsors and media partners.
Based on results from an Ipsos Reid survey, the economic impact of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2011 was
calculated to be $37.2 million with an additional $4.5 million spillover impact for the Province of Ontario.
The event attracted both local and out-of-town audiences, with an estimated attendance of one million
including more than 120,000 out of town visitors.
SCOTIABANK PEOPLE'S CHOICE
Each year event revellers are invited to vote for their favourite contemporary art projects as part
of the Scotiabank People's Choice. The three projects receiving the most votes are awarded $5,000 generously
donated by Scotiabank.
2007 Scotiabank People's Choice selections:
Kristen Roos, The Ghost Station, 2007
Hang Man Gallery, Sit Down/Asseyez Vous/Tome Asiento
Craig Walsh, INCURSION, 2007
2008 Scotiabank People's Choice selections:
Project
Blinkenlights, Stereoscope, 2008
Jillian
McDonald, Zombies in Condoland, 2008
Katharine
Harvey, Waterfall, 2008
2009 Scotiabank People's Choice selections:
Maria Legault, The Apology Project, 2009
Jerome McGrath and Rina Grosman, The Lost and Found Forest, 2009
Twofold, by GALTstudio (Mike Love, Dan McTavish, Shane Neill,
Virginia Fernandez, Catherine Westgate, Brian Muthaliff, Sayjel Patel), 2009
2010 Scotiabank People's Choice selections:
Independent Project Christine Irving & Site3 coLaboratory, Flux and Fire
Open Call Project Laurel MacDonald, XXIX, 2010
Exhibition Project Philip Beesley Architect Inc, Aurora, 2010
AWARDS
URBAN LEADERSHIP AWARD
The Canadian Urban Institute awarded Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2006 with the prestigious Urban Leadership
Award (City Initiatives category). The Urban Leadership Awards program honours those who have made a
profound and lasting impact on the quality of urban life.
GLOBE & MAIL BUSINESS FOR THE ARTS AWARD
Scotiabank has been awarded the Globe and Mail Business for the Arts Award for Best Arts/Entrepreneur
Partnership for their highly successful collaboration with the City of Toronto on Scotiabank Nuit Blanche.
Business for the Arts is a national business association dedicated to increasing the quantity and quality
of partnerships between business and the arts through a cohesive set of programs that foster and promote
business leadership in the arts, facilitate funding relationships and connect business volunteers to
the Arts. The Globe and Mail Business for the Arts Awards recognize companies that show outstanding commitment
to the arts in Canada.
ARCHIVES
NUIT BLANCHE INTERNATIONAL
Nuit Blanche was originally conceived in Paris, France in 2002, in an attempt to bring contemporary art
to the masses in public spaces. Now universally translated as ‘Sleepless Night’, Nuit Blanche
brings more than a million people to the streets of Paris every year. In 2005, Paris organizers contacted
the City of Toronto's Special Events office with an invitation to join the ranks of approximately six
other European cities producing similar all-night events. The international success of Nuit Blanche continues
to build each year and has expanded its reach beyond Paris to Brussels, Rome, Bucharest, Riga, Madrid,
La Valette, Portugal, Tokyo, Montreal and Leeds – each offering its own version of the all-night
art extravaganza.
Toronto was the first North American city to fully replicate the Paris model, and has inspired similar
celebrations throughout North America, including in San Francisco, New York, Miami and Chicago.
At its core, Nuit Blanche is a 12-hour event with a mandate to make contemporary art accessible to large
audiences, while inspiring dialogue and engaging the public to examine its significance and impact on
public space. Nuit Blanche is both a “high art” event and a free populous event that encourages
celebration and community engagement. From sunset to sunrise city spaces and neighbourhoods are transformed
into temporary exhibitions. Unusual or forbidden spaces become sites of contemporary art open for all-night
discovery and rediscovery. Cultural institutions, from museums to galleries to artist run centres, open
their doors and offer free access to contemporary art. The everyday is suspended as the city’s
landscape is changed to welcome a variety of artistic experiences.
Toronto’s Scotiabank Nuit Blanche has wholeheartedly embraced these principals, and has become
a cultural phenomenon the likes of which the city has never seen.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nuit Blanche
www.nuitblancheamsterdam.nl
Bologna, Italy
Artefiera
www.artefiera.bolognafiere.it/en/eventi/art-white-night/
Brescia, Italy
Note Bianca
www.nottebiancabrescia.com/
Brighton & Hove, UK
White Night
www.whitenightbrightonandhove.com
Brussels, Belgium
Nuit Blanche
www.nuitblanchebrussels.be
Bucharest, Romania
Noaptea Alba a Galeriilor
www.noapteagaleriilor.ro
Copenhagen, Denmark
Kulturnatten
www.kulturnatten.dk
Florence, Italy
Notte Bianca
www.insonniacreativa.it/
Halifax, Canada
Nocturne
nocturnehalifax.ca/
La Valetta, Malta
Notte Bianca
www.nottebiancamalta.com
Loule, Portugal
Noite Branca
www.noitebranca.com
Madrid, Spain
La Noche En Blanco
lanocheenblanco.esmadrid.com
Miami, USA
Sleepless Night
sleeplessnight.org
Minneapolis, USA
Northern Spark
northern.lights.mn
Montreal, Canada
Nuit Blanche - Montreal High Lights Festival
www.montrealenlumiere.com
New York City, USA
Bring to Light - Nuit Blanche
bringtolightnyc.org
Paris, France
Nuit Blanche
www.paris.fr
Riga, Latvia
Baltã Nakts
www.baltanakts.lv
San Antonio, USA
Luminaria
luminariasa.org
Santa Monica, USA
Glow Dusk && Beyond
glowsantamonica.org/
Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Digital Nights
www.digitalnights.sg/home.html
Tokyo, Japan
Roppongi Art Night
www.roppongiartnight.com/en
Toronto, Canada
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche
www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca
United Kingdom / 10 cities
Light Night
www.lightnight.co.uk
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