Nuit Blanche: Balls, Bags and Bagged
Around 4 pm yesterday, when the wind was blustery, and the sky was drizzly, and the cold was cold, I thought, "Oh boy, Nuit Blanche is gonna be bust." Torontonians will brave a lot of bad weather for say sports, but art? I had my doubts. Well, Toronto you certainly impressed. Not only did you counter my worst expectations you exceeded my best by far. I think Nuit Blanche has proven that Toronto loves Art.
Now, I had planned to start at Zone B, make my way over to Zone A and finish the evening trekking through Zone C. This was a futile and ambitious plan as I barely got out the first Zone before calling it a night when my soakers reached to my knees and I started to see more puking party-goers than performance artists.
I kicked off the night at the Textile Museum with a giant bag of clothes in hand for the Swap Till You Drop party with Allyson Mitchell. That was a hoot. As we ladies tried clothes on, we also would exchange the histories of the garments, and I came out with a bundle almost as large as I came in with.
I have to say by far my favourite event was Ballroom Dancing facilitated by Darren O'Donnell. I mean who can resist pissy ten-year old DJ's who stop the music and growl at the crowd to "Behave and stop throwing the balls around!" We had to leave when my hat became the target of choice.
Other hits for me included A Glow In the Dark's The Day Room by Geoffrey Pugen, and How To Respond in an Emergency by Diane Borsato (the dancing cops); Position Yourself in a Network of Possibilities by Samuel Roy-Bois (the makeshift outdoor dance-floor); In Pursuit of Happiness, 2006 by Tanya Mars (cake-eating, dining-table gluttony performance); Unearthed by Micheline Roi ( SOUNDplay fest audio tour); Strung Up performance by Mike Sharpe in 401 Richmond; and looking at paintings in the dark with flashlights at YYZ Artists' Outlet).
All in all, I am extremely disappointed that I have to wait a whole year before doing this again.
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