Despite the persistent rain, the citizens of Ottawa could not be happier to celebrate the masterpieces and hard work of the participating artists of Nuit Blanche Sept. 21.
Crowds of people flooding the Byward Market to catch a glimpse of art couldn’t have been a better way to start off the colourful night.
While Nuit Blanche is a huge event, it also brings many perks and excitement to those participating in it. According to artist Jane Ladan, Nuit Blanche is the ultimate place to be.
“It’s fun. I want to do Nuit Blanche, I do not want to sleep,” Ladan said.
With the people watching and participating having a great night, the artists’ lively personalities and enthusiasm made the event an even greater success.
For artist Jessica Aylsworth, she said her passion for art was what inspired her to get involved with the big event.
“I’ve seen it in Montreal all different times,” she said. “I used to live there, and I always thought that it was really cool and when I came back to Ottawa, I really wanted to do what I could to jump into the art scene here so, pretty much as soon as I heard that it was happening I was like ‘oh we have to get in!’”
Nuit Blanche is a place for artists to come together and display their creativity in an exciting way that allows the people watching to stay up through the night.
The event ran from sundown Sept. 21 to sunrise on Sept. 22, giving people plenty of time to enjoy and celebrate the beautiful art pieces of those involved.
Nuit Blanche also challenged viewers to see the different and creative ways of looking at art.
“[My] art piece is mostly about politics,” Ladan said. “Politicians, about corruption represented by the red part and the middle is the youth. And the young community staying together, because they don’t trust politicians anymore.”
And there was never a dull moment—the people taking part in Nuit Blanche had their hands full. From comic strips to live video clips of Ottawa being projected all over white sheets, Nuit Blanche was able to reach out to everyone. Art lovers, those curious to know more about art, and even those who knew nothing about it at all were welcomed and included.
Artist Cathy Breen said Nuit Blanche encouraged people to step out of their houses and enjoy a night of contemporary art.
“[Nuit Blanche] gets people like this out that I never see,” she said. “The amount of people, all different kinds of people here . . . I think it’s really good for the arts community, because it shows us that there’s a lot of people interested in art.”
