Nuit Blanche

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It has been suggested that Night of the arts be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

It has been suggested that Light night be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The crowded steps of the Campidoglio in Rome during the 2006 Nuit Blanche

The artistically lit interior of the Grand Palais in Paris, 2005.

Nuit Blanche (literally White Night or All-Nighter in French) is an annual all-night arts festival. Its exact beginning is disputed between Paris, St Petersburg, and Berlin, but, taking elements from all of these, the idea of a night-time festival of the arts has spread around the world since 1997, taking hold from Montreal to Madrid and Lima to Leeds. A Nuit Blanche will typically have museums, private and public art galleries, and other cultural institutions open and free of charge, with the centre of the city itself being turned into a de facto art gallery, providing space for art installations, performances (music, film, dance, performance art), themed social gatherings, and other activities.

[edit] Terminology

Some cities use the French phrase Nuit blanche (or Nuits blanches, if the event is spread over more than one night). Some use the same words in their language: White Nights, La Notte Bianca (Italian), La Noche en Blanco (Spanish), Noaptea alba (Romanian). Others invent their own names, such as Lejl Imdawwal ("Lit Night") in Maltese, Virada Cultural in São Paulo, Baltā Nakts in Rīgā ("White Night"), Night of the arts (Taiteiden yö) in Finland, and Kulturnatten ("Night of Culture") in Copenhagen.

[edit] History

The current all-night festivals have their roots in several cities. St Petersburg, for two hundred years capital of the Russian Empire and still a major European cultural centre, is one of the world's most northerly cities, and as such has long summer days and near-endless twilight from mid-May to mid-July, the celebrated phenomenon known as the white nights. This led to the annual celebrations known as the White Nights Festival, which features months of pop culture (e.g. the Rolling Stones in the open air at Palace Square) and high culture events ("Stars of the White Nights Festival" at the Mariinsky Theatre), street carnivals, and the Scarlet Sails celebration, known for its fireworks. So "white nights" in the Russian context is both a natural phenomenon of the summer, and a long-standing cultural festival that spreads over weeks or months in midsummer.

Another similar festival that contributed to the White Nights came out of Germany. The first Long Night of Museums took place in the newly re-united Berlin in 1997 with a dozen participating institutions and exhibitions; the number has risen to 125, with over 150,000 people taking part in the January 2005 night. The idea has spread to other cities: in addition to the Langen Nacht der Museen in Berlin, there is a museums-n8 event in Amsterdam.

The third, and arguably most important, strand that has contributed to the international Nuit Blanche concept is the event of that name launched by the Mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoë in 2002.

Wherever the idea originated from, and whatever names are used, the White Nights have expanded dramatically, with events in over 120 cities.

[edit] Examples

White Nights have entered the cultural calendar of cities around the world, spreading through Europe and North America and beyond, to world cities such as Tel Aviv and São Paulo.^[1]

In 2005, Rome's Notte Bianca was held in mid-September, and the guest star was Roberto Benigni. There were similar initiatives in other cities as well. In Naples it first took place at the end of October 2005 with numerous concerts (Baglioni, Pino Daniele, 99 Posse, Almamegretta, Stadio) and theatrical and cultural events. The attendance was twice the population of Naples itself. Other Italian Notte Bianche took place in Genoa, Turin, Reggio Calabria, and Catanzaro^[2]. Light Night occurred in Leeds, England, that October, as part of the launch of the region-wide Illuminate Cultural Festival^[3].

In 2006, Nuit Blanche came to Toronto. Christophe Girard, Deputy Mayor of Paris, who dreamt up the idea of Nuit Blanche in 2002, travelled there to help launch the event, praising its citizens for their love of "the magic and the mysteries of the night"^[4]. Attendance at this inaugural event was estimated by City Hall to have been 425,000 people; the following year almost doubled that, attracting 800,000 revelers. 2006 also saw the first Lejl Imdawwal (Lit Night) in Malta, in the capital city of Valletta.^[5][6] Throughout the fortified city, shops remained open. The Co-Cathedral of St.John was open for display.

In 2007, Looptopia was held in Chicago in May, the first event of its type held in the United States.

In 2008, Lima hosted a Noche en Blanco in mid-May, within the framework of cultural activities of the fifth Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union Summit^[7]. Santa Monica, part of Los Angeles, hosted its first all-night festival under the name of Glow^[8], inspired by Nuit Blanche, over a weekend in mid-July on the famous Santa Monica Pier, on the beach north and south of the Pier and in the nearby Palisades Park. The capital of South Korea threw its first nocturnal cultural festival, Seoul Open Night, in August that year, estimating a draw of about 100,000 citizens at six downtown districts.

One misty night, October, 24, 2008, Le Flash [6] sparked this same ephemeral energy in Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill District [7]. Curated by Cathy Byrd and Stuart Keeler, the premier of Le Flash Atlanta featured over 40 projects in Castleberry’s streets and galleries, vacant lots and windows, warehouses and rooftops. The event illuminated the district from dusk to midnight, creating a unique cultural experience, and leaving a trace of magic and mystery in the minds of those who were there.

The event will return to Castleberry Hill again on Friday, October 2 with Le Flash Atlanta 2009, the opening event of Atlanta Celebrates Photography[8] (a month long celebration of the city's photographic exhibitions and events).

Fantastical art and creative events will again fill a night out in the neighborhood. Atlanta expects to be showered with the light and sound of installations, performance art, poetry readings, music, video projections, an iron pour and art happenings of all sorts.

In 2009, a British network of Light Night towns and cities was established.^[9]

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nuit Blanche

[edit] References

1. ^ "Taking to the streets - all night long". Haaretz. 2007-06-29. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/875480.html. Retrieved on 2007-06-29. 
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ [2]
4. ^ [3]
5. ^ [http://www.nottebiancamalta.com
6. ^ "NOTTE BIANCA - LEJL IMDAWWAL - A night fusion of arts and culture in Valletta". The Malta Council for Culture and the Arts. 2006-09-13. http://www.maltaculture.com/page.asp?n=pressnewsdetails&i=8433&l=1. Retrieved on 2007-12-11. 
7. ^ [4]
8. ^ [5]
9. ^ [www.lightnight.co.uk]

[edit] External links

• "Nuit Blanche changes everything" (Toronto's Nuit Blanche) - kapiTal magazine, December 2006