What to expect at Nuit Blanche 2022 as it expands across Toronto

For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Nuit Blanche is returning in person, and this year it will be expanding across Toronto to now include North York and Etobicoke.

“I think that people are going to be super thrilled and excited to get back out into the streets of Toronto after three years,” Dr. Julie Nagam, the artistic director of Nuit Blanche, told CityNews ahead of the 16th edition of the all-night event.

“For me, Nuit Blanche is the unsung hero of the contemporary art events. It’s the people’s event and so people love it. You get 1.2 million people coming out for a one-night exhibition.

“You also have $443 million worth of economic revenue for the city that comes in. And art is for everybody. And the transformation and the wonder and the awe, I think people need it now more than ever.”

The theme for this year’s Nuit Blanche (French for “sleepless night”) is “The space between us.” There will be more than 170 exhibits with more than 150 participating artists. The event will run between 7 p.m. on Oct. 1 and 7 a.m. on Oct. 2.

Downtown Toronto will once again be the epicentre of Nuit Blanche. Nagam said there would be a massive light show at Nathan Phillips Square. She also said Yonge Street would see a large part of it shut down, along with a few nearby streets, like An Occupation by Amrita Hepi from Australia.

“If you like karaoke, if you like dancing, you should come to check out my installation,” she encouraged residents

Hepi and five dancers will be moving to a playlist of 80 songs, all of which have to do with labour and work.

“There’s a lot of precarity around labour at the moment, so I wanted to involve people and be participants in the work,” she said.

Mixed with the playlist, Hepi also said there would be a heart monitor that would see a large inflatable match the device’s rhythms.

“You’ll see it crescendo, and you’ll also see it fall. I’m really interested in how you can kind of seduce an audience into something and have the concept come up slowly,” she said.

Nagam said the City of Toronto received feedback from residents who said Nuit Blanche was too downtown-centric. So for the first time in North York, Mel Lastman Square will be transformed with exhibits.

---

RELATED: Nuit Blanche Toronto 2020 goes virtual and expands to multiple days with online streams

---

At the Aga Khan Museum, there will also be exhibits such as Colour of the Year by Meera Sethi. It will see non-toxic inks swirling together in a large pool.

“The idea is to have people thinking about the environmental impact of dye pollution and the textile industry and have people think about the sort of shadow side of the bright colours we like to wear,” she told CityNews.

“You can’t control water, you can’t control wind when textile dyes are poured into rivers and lakes and oceans. You don’t know where that’s going to go … Every minute, every hour is going to look different.”

At Humber College’s Lakeshore campus in south Etobicoke, there will be plenty to see there too.

“We have some really beautiful fabric installation artists there. We’ve got a few people from Australia doing a sea canopy,” Nagam said.

“There’s also a human weaving project where there will be over 30 people weaving across the field.”

Scarborough will be back for a third time too. One of the exhibits at the Scarborough Civic Centre, Tailings Pool, will see a large pool of water as the piece examines at how natural resources are being consumed.

For those looking to take in discussions surrounding the arts and public space, Nagam said there are symposium talks as a part of the event.

Nagam said Nuit Blanche organizers wanted to let people take in a lot or a little bit this year, encouraging people to pace themselves accordingly.

“Definitely, it’s a long night, it’s a 12-hour period, and all of us will be drinking tea and coffee probably just to stay awake,” she said.

Getting around for Nuit Blanche

For those who want to travel around by TTC, there will be all-night subway service on all four lines. Entry into the system will be fare-free at Scarborough Centre and North York Centre stations and it’s recommended riders pick up a paper transfer for use later on. Also, day passes used on Oct. 1 can be used until 7 a.m. on Oct. 2.

If you use GO Transit, there won’t be any extra late-night rail service for this year’s event. Click here to access regular service schedules.

The following roads will be closed to vehicles or will see traffic reductions:

• Temperance Street (between Yonge and Bay streets) and Colborne Street (between Yonge and Scott streets) will be local traffic only between 9 p.m. on Sept. 29 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 2
• Yonge Street (between Dundas Street and Queens Quay) will be closed, but east-west traffic will be kept going at major intersections between 9 p.m. on Sept. 30 and 11 a.m. on Oct. 2
• Queen Street West (between York and Bay streets, Bay and Victoria streets) will be closed between 9 p.m. on Sept. 30 and 11 a.m. on Oct. 2
• The westbound Gardiner Expressway off-ramp to Yonge Street will be closed between 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 and 11 a.m. on Oct. 2
• Esplanade Street (between Yonge and Scott streets) will be local traffic only on part of the part between 6 p.m. on Sept. 30 and 11 a.m. on Oct. 2
• Queens Quay West (between York and Bay streets) will be closed with local traffic on part of that section between 10 a.m. on Oct. 1 and 10 a.m. on Oct. 2
• Bay Street (between Dundas Street West and Richmond Street West), Albert Street and James Street will see road closures or restrictions in place between 10 a.m. on Oct. 1 and 10 a.m. on Oct. 2
• Hagerman Street will be closed between 10 a.m. on Oct. 1 and 10 a.m. on Oct. 2

If you need a spot to park your car, click here to find a directory of Green P parking lots.