Nuit Blanche 2022
Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s free all-night art celebration will return in person this October 1 from sunset to sunrise.
The exciting city-wide event will include works by more than 150 local, national and international artists, including dozens of OCAD U student, faculty and alums, held together by the theme "the space between us". This year, the curators have focused on building bridges between cultures, communities and the environment, with a focus on BIPOC voices and shared experiences.
For the first time, the event will be spread across Toronto, with community members showcasing works from Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough and the downtown core. In 2022, record number of artist works will be on view for the 12-hour event, including massive light installations, sculptural interventions, inflatables, AR projects, performances, skateboarding, fashion and so much more.
"We are ecstatic to bring to life the first-ever city-wide Nuit Blanche this fall, which will be an epic return to a full public art takeover of Toronto," Julie Nagam, Nuit Blanche artistic director, said in a press release.
OCAD University’s Onsite Gallery will feature Up Front a series presented in partnership with the Inuit Art Foundation that presents commissioned digital murals by Inuit artists on the gallery’s exterior over two years.
Curated by Ryan Rice, the first mural, which will be on view throughout Nuit Blanche, is by Mohkinstsis-based Inuvialuk artist and curator, Kablusiak. Along with Kablusiak’s photo installation is it spirals, an augmented reality art piece by Jordan Bennett.
Visitors can also check out alum Natalie King’s installation Proud Joy, at OCAD U’s Butterfield Park. King’s installation will take place amid the backdrop of Jordan Bennett’s mural pi’tawita’iek: we go up river on the south façade of 100 McCaul St., which reflects on his relationships with Mi’kmaq porcupine quillwork.
Below is a list of exhibitions we’re looking forward to that feature OCAD U galleries, artists, designers and curators.
A point and a line, makes a curve, then a circle
Exhibition 11 | 2 Colonel Samuel Smith Park Dr. | Etobicoke
Soft Walls Collective | Anita Cazzola (Sculpture and Installation BFA 19’) and Emma Worley (Material Art and Design BDes 16’)
The Soft Walls Collective presents a 12-hour collaborative weaving performance, involving weavers responding to shared choreography, tension and sound. The weavers and their backstrap looms will be equipped with contact microphones amplified in real time, creating an immersive sonic tapestry.
All City Shine
Exhibition 31 | 70 Canuck Ave. | North York
Deluxo McCallum (Graphic Design BDes 05’), Curtia Wright (Drawing and Painting BFA 15’), Jacquie Comrie (Drawing and Painting BFA 10’) and Ness Lee (Illustration BFA 12’)
All City Shine creates space for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian and BIPOC artists to shine collectively. From a massive mural to the surrounding architecture to digital works and artist interviews, this project treats public space as a canvas for expression and captivating narratives. Part of ArtworxTO: Toronto's Year of Public Art 2021-2022.
Fabulous Ones
Exhibition 32 | 4700 Keele St. | York University | North York
Public Visualization Studio | Faculty of Design Associate Professor Patricio Dávila, Faculty of Arts & Science Assistant Professor Immony Mèn, Karina Iskandarsjah (Criticism & Curatorial Practice MFA 18’)
Fabulous Ones presents creatures inspired by Argentinian short story writer Jorge Luis Borges. Displayed as digital renderings on large screens nestled within a cluster of trees across from the Archives of Ontario at York University, the artworks look back at the viewers, tracking them in real-time through motion-sensing cameras and AI-generated animations.
Untitled, Thomas Demand’s Here
Exhibition 41 | Museum of Contemporary Art
Rirkrit Tiravanija (AOCA 84’)
A life-size model of a karaoke bar called Black Label in Kokura, Japan will be on view as part of Thomas Demand's exhibition HOUSE OF CARD at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The exhibition is on until January 8, 2023 but the karaoke bar will be animated by singers for one night only, on October 1.
The Fourth Wall
Exhibition 44 | 1150 Queen St W. | The Drake Hotel
Malik McKoy (Drawing and Painting BFA 19’)
A vibrant video projection features an other-worldly character that exists in a fantastical environment and reacts to the audience. The character engages with the audience, reflecting on our human fascination with observing others, McKoy's work examines how this interaction changes when the audience is presented with mundane moments.
Proud Joy
Exhibition 64 | OCAD University | Butterfield Park | 100 McCaul St.
Natalie King (Drawing and Painting BFA 18’) Programming Coordinator at Xpace Cultural Art Centre
Natalie King will create an anti-colonial installation featuring her cast of Anishinaabe queer femme spirits. These bright, brave visual guardians will surround a joyous gathering place. Viewers are invited to rest, reflect, converse and celebrate around a symbolic fire. King's installation will take place amid the backdrop of Jordan Bennett's pi’tawita’iek: we go up river. Both artists' works are grounded in Indigenous pride and joy. Their use of vibrant colour, symbology and connections to the land, water and sky reflect their Mi’kmaq and Anishinaabe histories, present and future.
Up Front
Exhibition 69 | 199 Richmond St, W. | Onsite Gallery | Downtown
Kablusiak and Jordan Bennett
Artists Kablusiak and Jordan Bennett take over the front windows of Onsite Gallery, with a mural and an augmented reality piece. Enjoy colourful photo opportunities and take home a contemporary digital artwork!
A God Amongst Us
Exhibition 83 | 235 Queens Quay West | Downtown
Eugene Paunil (Industrial Design 15’)
Inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests, Paunil creates an installation that focuses on societal divisions caused by political and racial indifference
Blankets (Under) Cover
Exhibition 90 | 25 Queens Quay West | Downtown
Shelley Niro (AOCA 90’)
