Ten years ago this past weekend, the citizens of Toronto were transformed as they wandered along a path temporarily bound in artificial fog and forever flipped the script on what was possible with a contemporary art exhibition. Suddenly it was possible to draw one hundred thousand people to engage with some of the weirdest and wildest work around (marathon tennis matches? dancing police officers? boxes to scream in?) in the darkest night and scattered to the far-flung corners of downtown. The tradition continues and after four hours of biking around through crowds and against gale-force winds on Saturday, I’ve come up with some pointers for future artists to achieve Nuit Blanche success. 
Heather and Ivan Morrison, The Cleaving
1. Go big or go home.
Heather and Ivan Morrison hit it out of the park with a work that couldn't have happened at any other time and in any other context. Their massive pile of timber fit the scale of the night, sat in the middle of the street, was clear evidence of labour (always endearing for the masses), and touched on art historical references (like environmental art and Minimalist piles of stuff, not to mention the long history of trees represented in painting and photography) that pleased the art snobs like me. 
Anandam Dancetheatre, Glaciology
2. Keep it outside.
The biggest frustration with Nuit Blanche – particularly for those of us inclined to experiencing art on their lonesome – is the prevalence of lines that form at indoor venues. I’ve come to regard these exhibits as not in the spirit of the evening. If I want to go inside a gallery or see something that could easily be programmed in a standard gallery setting, then I have the rest of the year for that. If I want to see a bunch of people rolling down the street in a choreographed approximation of a glacier, then I will make the effort to stay up all night to do so. 
Amalia Pica, noissecorp
3. Keep it simple.
The biggest disappointment of the evening was making it over to Allen Gardens only to find out that Alfredo Jaar’s installation was shut down due to technical difficulties. There are no second chances at Nuit Blanche and complication just leads to frustration, so points are awarded for adaptability (such as Jon Sasaki moving his work inside because of the wind) and simplicity (which is not to say simplistic). Amalia Pica’s backwards marchers circling Queen’s Park created a vortex of evocation from the most basic of human endeavours. I hope random passersby joined in through the night and the remaining participants held on until sunrise. 
Robert Wysocki, Lava Field No. 2
4. It’s about time.
While I’ve only ever had the energy to do it once, there is the possibility of revisiting different works at different times throughout the night. I was tempted to make it back to Queens Quay to see the final outcome of Robert Wysocki’s smelter-created pool of lava, but exhaustion got the better of me. For those who make the long haul, I imagine that the delirium of the last hour is somewhat transcendent (or maybe I’m romanticizing things). 
JR, Inside Out
5. Do it for the people.
Tania Bruguera’s voting booth at the base of Queen’s Park met the masses head on and used Nuit Blanche as an opportunity to reflect on the mass movements of immigrants and refugees around the world. It was timely and participatory and took people out of themselves. The location only added to the experience. JR, on the other hand, the artist who for some reason was selected as the exclusive feature of the city core, did everything I’ve said artists need to do and still came off flat. The endless array of selfies generated by his travelling photo-booths was a far too literal reflection of what anyone with a pair of eyes could see any day on the streets of Toronto. They played on the same narcissism that has become rampant in the age of social media. And they pandered to populism in a way that most everything else resisted. For all these reasons, I doubt they’ll be remembered, and with Nuit Blanche, all that remains are the memories.
Scotiabank Nuit Blanche: http://www.scotiabanknuitblanche.ca/
Terence Dick is a freelance writer living in Toronto. His art criticism has appeared in Canadian Art, BorderCrossings, Prefix Photo, Camera Austria, Fuse, Mix, C Magazine, Azure, and The Globe and Mail. He is the editor of Akimblog. You can follow his quickie reviews and art news announcements on Twitter @TerenceDick.
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Nuit Blanche, Toronto
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