What you need to know about Nuit Blanche 2024

Toronto will be the city that doesn’t sleep for one night this weekend during the annual Nuit Blanche. The festival is the city’s all-night celebration of contemporary art produced by the City of Toronto alongside Toronto’s arts community.

This year’s theme is Bridging Distance and will feature almost 100 art projects and performances from close to 150 artists.

Highlights of the show

The Weight of Levity

Located between Little Norway Park and HTO Park West, underscored by the cycles of sunset and moonrise, The Weight of Levity by Su-Ying Lee considers the interrelatedness of seemingly distant positions through the metaphors of gravity and ascension, ups and downs. Over Nuit Blanche’s 12-hour duration, opposing physical, perceptual and emotional states are deeply explored as counterparts.

And the spaces between us smiled

Located between HTO Park and Harbour Square Park West, rooted in resistance, love and celebration, this exhibition by Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware takes inspiration from the poem Stay on the Battlefield by Black artist and professor Sonia Sanchez, in which she writes “and the spaces between us smiled.” This exhibition draws from land, water and resistance movements that help to build community, fight for climate justice and work towards an interdependent and interconnected future.

Cat’s Cradle

Located between Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Common, this exhibition by Danica Pinteric uncovers the material qualities of hidden networks that connect us. Inspired by the popular string game, Cat’s Cradle considers how our social fabric is formed through individual and collective activity. Seven artists echo the game’s fluid nature with a night of performance, interactive sound work and sculptural installations. Each project evolves throughout the night, emphasizing themes of collectivity, flux and interdependence as vital strategies for bridging distance.

Descriptions of the exhibitions provided by City of Toronto

When and where

From 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 5, to 7 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 6, three exhibitions and the official Event Hub will be located along the downtown waterfront, 12 projects will be staged at Humber Polytechnic Lakeshore Campus and a multitude of works will animate public and cultural spaces across Toronto. 

There are no art projects at City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square during Nuit Blanche this year due to essential maintenance works.

A full map of exhibitions can be found on the City of Toronto’s website.

Extended TTC hours

On Sun., Oct. 6, Line 1 Yonge-University and Line 2 Bloor-Danforth will remain open past the usual 2 a.m. closing time. Subway service will run every 15 minutes from 1:30 a.m. until regular Sunday schedules resume at 8 a.m.

Several bus and streetcar routes will also run extended hours and with more capacity:

• 903 Kennedy Station-Scarborough Express buses will operate all night with additional buses along the route.
• Extra buses will be added to the 100 Flemingdon Park route for overnight service to the Agha Khan Museum art installations.
• 944 Kipling South Express buses will operate all night from Kipling Station to Humber College Lake Shore Campus.
• Extra streetcars will be in service on 501 Queen and 301 Queen Night, 503 Kingston Road and 303 Kingston Road Night, 504 King and 304 King Night, and 511 Bathurst. 511 Bathurst streetcar service will operate all night.

As part of the service adjustments for Nuit Blanche, some routes will be diverted to accommodate road closures, including 65 Parliament and 365 Parliament Night, 114 Queens Quay East, 202 Cherry Beach, 509 Harbourfront, 510 Spadina and 310 Spadina Night. Diversions will start at 7 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 5, until 8 a.m. on Sun., Oct. 6.