Toronto: Art and the city
On October 4, Toronto hosted its third annual Nuit Blanche. Over a million people gathered for this all-night, after-dark adventure and discovered a city invaded by artists. Art of every medium, in every corner, illuminated the city with excitement, mystique and beauty. The event was an opportunity to seize a brief moment to connect with each other and our environment.
Dressed in a blanket of color, light and music, the city overflowed with people from all walks of life. While the daring walked in four-inch heels from sunset till dawn, others dressed comfy and warm in playful, festive outfits. The style highlight of my evening was the Daphne Guinness look-a-like zombie of Jillian McDonald’s Zombies in Condoland. Dashing about town in a lilac, laced-trimmed Edwardian dress tainted with blood, she was dark glamour at its finest.
The most memorable part of my night involved reading wishes on my tiptoes at Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace art project. Visitors wrote a wish for the world and tied it to the Wish Tree near Lamport Stadium. All wishes will be gathered and stored as part of the John Lennon memorial Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland. The project was very simple and it was compelling to watch passing pedestrians inhale drifts of optimism as the white tags swayed in the wind.
Enjoying open air works of art, laughs and jugs of caffeine in the company of a million art-hungry strangers, makes Nuit Blanche my favorite night of the year—an insomniac’s dream come true!
Shown: Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree in Liberty Village.
