10th Anniversary Edition of Nuit Blanche

Text: Anne Ditmeyer
Images: Nuit Blanche

"Nuit Blanche" literally translates to "white night," but what it really means is sleepless night, and Saturday, October 1, marks the 10th anniversary that Paris celebrates their official Nuit Blanche with art installations, performances, concerts and videos around the city. The event, which takes place annually on the first Saturday in October, has picked up steam and spread to a handful of cities around Europe, and beyond. The goal is to give Parisians and visitors alike a new excuse to explore the city, while taking contemporary art outside of a museum and into and onto unlikely contexts, making the art accessible to all. The ephemeral quality makes the night extra special, as the event runs from 7pm on October 1st, and ends at 7am the next morning. This year's Paris Nuit Blanche is focused around the four major neighborhoods of Hôtel de Ville, La Nouvelle Athênes–Saint-Georges, Montmartre–Anvers, and Batignolles–Pigalle, as well as reaching out around Paris.

While much of the enjoyment of the night comes from the unexpected while happening upon various locations, having some idea of what is going on can be a great way to make the most of your night. The full program (which will be handed out at various points around the city Saturday night) is available for download on the official website. Each installation is listed by neighborhood with a brief explanation, along with a bit of information about the creator. Within each neighborhood, there are a few major installations by artists invited by the Mairie de Paris, and a handful of smaller associated projects (additionally, some local shops, restaurants and galleries may chose to independently share their own version of a sleepless night). There is also free application is available for iPhones and Androids which is quite handy for planning ahead or getting your bearings on Saturday night. Around the city banner signs have already appeared in the featured neighborhoods to help further contextualize the evening's events.

Extra-Systole

Even the RATP is involved in this city wide event. Metro line 14 will be running all night, and is free between 2:15am and 5:30am, and line 12 will be open all night between Madeleine and Porte de la Chapelle. In the Madeleine station in the corridor between lines 12 & 14, "Cycloux," an installation by France Dubois will transform the hallways through changing projections. Dubois is also behind "Extra-Systole," an installation on the funiculaire carrying riders up to Sacre Coeur, where ambient red light will act like a beating heart, speeding up as it approaches the top of the hill.

The entire program is available online. Below are a few more ongoings that caught our eye:

Inspired by the 1984 Price song and film by Albert Magnoli, "Purple Rain," Pierre Ardouvin's installation invites visitors to hypnotically join in an artificial rainstorm under umbrellas to experience the color purple at the Hôtel d’Albret (31 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Paris 4e).

Melanie Manchot's "Dance (All Night/Paris)" takes place at Lycée Edgar Quinet (63 rue des Martyrs, Paris 9e) and is a participatory performance with various dance styles throughout the night.

"Grand Image Lab" uses the facade of a building overlooking the train tracks near the Rome metro station to project the images by 12 student creators onto a large scale.

500 candles resemble the constellations in the sky in Renaud Auguste-Dormeuil's "I Will Keep Burning" at the Square Louise Michel.

 

For those out and about Saturday night and looking to get a sneak peek of ongoings or share your own findings, use the Twitter hashtag #nb11 or tweet @Paris.