On Saturday, October 5th from sunset to sunrise, we celebrated contemporary art at Scotiabank Nuit Blanche. And, boy, was it an exhilarating night with thousands of Torontonians roaming the streets to revel in artistic expression.
We opened the doors at the majestic Metropolitan United Church located in the heart of Toronto by Queen St. E. and Church St. Our installation, Lexicon, invited audience members to share short poems about the city using words taken directly from our anthology series TOK: Writing the New Toronto. We saw over 15,000 people come through and share what they love, hate, feel about this diverse metropolis.
Throughout the night, participants were surprised by performances that include spoken word, theatre and music, where performers interacted with the audience who were invited to share the stage. We were delighted by the brave guests who stepped up to the open-mic and read their own poems or others’ poems whom they felt inspired by.
All in all, it was a fantastic and successful night where Torontonians let us into their creative side and opened up collectively speaking in one poetic voice reflecting the mosaic culture this great city has to offer.
Early morning when everyone has finally cleared out, and the church is once again peaceful.
