Nuit Blanche Ottawa+Gatineau is a 1 night per year, dusk-until-dawn celebration of Contemporary Art and local culture that takes place across multiple venues in the National Capital Region. The event showcases the creativity and cohesion of this dynamic community, the success of its industries, and it emphasises the region’s importance as a cultural leader and art destination.
The origins of Nuit Blanche began in Nantes, France in 1989 under the direction of Jean Blaise, who then developed
six more similar events before he took it to Paris in 2001, where it then became the iconic event that is now produced annually in hundreds of cities world wide. The all-night festival has spread to places such as New York, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Rome, Madrid, and Melbourne. Its goal is to momentarily enable the re-imagining and animation of public spaces within the urban environment.
Nuit Blanche Ottawa+Gatineau promotes, supports and runs an inclusive, community driven event. It demonstrates innovation and delivers a rich and stimulating experience for all parties involved. This event fosters economic development for industry and culture within the National Capital Region. It importantly increases visibility of local, national and international contemporary culture within the region.
With over 150 artists involved, more than 50 galleries, institutions and business and with 30 000 smiling people in attendance Nuit Blanche 2012 was a beaming beacon of the creativity and ingenuity of the National Capital Region.
In March 2013 Nuit Blanche Ottawa+Gatineau became an independent Not-for-Profit Foundation under the Canadian Incorporation Act. The first board of directors meeting was held on April 10th at the Council for the Arts in Ottawa. While formal steps are being taken to develop the event into an annual celebration, the 2013 programming is underway for the second event on 21 September 2013. It is supported by many local cultural leaders and partners including the Ottawa Art Gallery, SAW Gallery, Artengine, the Council for the Arts in Ottawa, the ByWard Market BIA and Markets Management.
For the second event Nuit Blanche Ottawa+Gatineau’s aims to increase the creative scope of projects presented and
to partner with more local businesses. The 2013 theme is ‘Supernova!’. We are asking the artists to ‘radiate beyond the tremendous impact of the inaugural event and to intrepidly become a community supernova. To think creatively and critically about the National Capital Region as a space that hosts a complex mix of cultures and politics. It is a milieu that networks daily with the local, national and international realm while working to collectively build a nationhood.’