An old friend to East Toronto residents will be back in the neighbourhood through to the end of this week thanks to the extension of a number of Nuit Blanche art exhibits.
“On the heels of the 17th edition of Nuit Blanche Toronto – the annual all-night celebration of contemporary art – the City of Toronto is pleased to announce that 17 projects will remain on display until Sept. 29 as part of the Nuit Blanche Toronto Extended Projects program,” said the City of Toronto in a news release on Monday, Sept. 25.
The annual Nuit Blanche exhibition had taken place from the night of Sept. 23 through to the morning of Sept. 24 at a number of locations across the city including along Danforth Avenue between Donlands and Woodbine avenue.
The Nuit Blanche East Danforth hub was home to seven major art installations over the weekend, and two of them have been extended through to Sept. 29.
They are the Story Arts Centre Campus at Centennial College’s Plant A Seed installation; and the East End Arts Future of the Danforth installation featuring Wampum Pride and Winter Stations as Fall Stations.
The Winter Stations as Fall Stations exhibit features the art installation of CONRAD the raccoon. Local residents will remember that CONRAD was part of the Winter Stations art installations set up along Woodbine Beach this past winter. (For more on Conrad at Winter Stations, please Beach Metro Community News’ earlier story at https://beachmetro.com/2023/02/10/conrad-the-raccoon-will-now-be-among-art-installations-on-woodbine-beach-for-winter-stations-2023/ )
“As an arts organization, we are concerned about the time, resources, and materials that go into temporary public art installations only to have them wind up in the landfill because there is no plan for them after, or no space to affordably store them between touring engagements,” said East End Arts of its decision to bring CONRAD to the Danforth for Nuit Blanche.
“The upcycling movement has witnessed a resurgence as people work to combat climate change, which has included artists creating more installations that are made from items that would otherwise end up in the garbage. This Nuit Blanche we are excited to present the Winter Stations as Fall Stations, giving our favourite installation titled “CONRAD” a unique new life and experience. Public art is meant to help promote thinking and debate, and it is hoped that viewers of these installations will be inspired to find ways to upcycle and reuse items in all aspects of their own lives, while exploring ways for households, workplaces, and businesses to consume less, reuse, and repurpose for sustainable change!”
The CONRAD Nuit Blache installation is in Robertson Parkette, south side of Danforth Avenue just west of Coxwell Avenue.
The Wampum Pride exhibit is at 1530 Danforth Ave. at the Blossoming Minds Daycare, pretty much right across the street from the Robertson Parkette.
“Wampum Pride evokes the image of a wampum belt featuring figures holding hands in unity, peace, and love. Wampum is a millennia old way for making agreements and conveying significant understandings and concepts between host nations in Tkaronto (Anishinaabe, Wendat and Haudenosaunee) as well as other indigenous nations in the Great Lakes and eastern regions of Turtle Island,” said East End Arts.
“Wampum agreements have also been extended and continue to exist between settler colonial governments in the form of treaties such as the Treaty of Niagara Belt of 1764, Two Row Wampum of 1613 or the Dish with One Spoon Wampum of 1701. For this installation, the figures are set against the colours of the progress flag calling for inclusivity and visibility of all gender and relationship orientations.”
The Plant A Seed exhibit at the Story Arts Centre Campus at Centennial College, 951 Carlaw Ave., is a collaborative effort by former students, alumni at faculty.
It consists of the What Do We As A Community Want To Grow; the They Tried to Bury Us; and Light Source installations.
Other Nuit Blanche Toronto Extended Projects across the city include installations at Humber College in Etobicoke; Union Station, and Scarborough Town Centre.
For more information on the extended Nuit Blanche exhibits, including exact locations and hours, please go to www.toronto.ca/nbto
For more on the Nuit Blanche East Danforth hubs and East End Arts, please go to https://eastendarts.ca/nbed2023/
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