Night arts festival comes to city for first time

Nuit Blanche displays range from dance to virtual reality to building projections

A new arts festival coming to Regina this fall is hoping to light up the night sky with artwork of all kinds accessible to everyone.

The Nuit Blanche Festival, hosted by Nuit Blanche Regina, will flood City Square Plaza in Victoria Park and the F.W. Hill Mall on Scarth Street with artwork on Sept. 29 from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Nuit Blanche — which means ‘Sleepless Night’ — is a festival held across the globe, varying from place to place while maintaining the same two key principles: It’s free and it’s at night.

Michelle Harazny, director of Nuit Blanche Regina, was inspired to bring the festival to the Queen City after attending it in other places.

“I went to Nuit Blanche Saskatoon last year. I also went to Nuit Blanche in Montreal for quite a few years, and thought that there are a lot of artists in Regina and a lot of potential to have a similar event here,” Harazny said.

“I think it will showcase some of the amazing Saskatchewan artists, and it will bring people to look at art in a new environment downtown, and it will allow people to consider spaces like alleys or areas of the park or storefront windows, places that you might not normally think of having artwork.”

The artwork will range from projections on to the sides of buildings to visual art to dance to virtual reality, providing something for everyone.

But the focus of the festival is on exploring art in a nighttime, downtown setting.

“Art is accessible, and you can see it and interact with it and experience it outdoors,” said Harazny.

“The festival’s really about light and, with the projections, you’ll only be able to see them when it’s dark, so when the sun sets around 6:40 p.m. then you’ll really see the downtown start to glow.”

Visitors will receive a festival program with a map detailing all the installation locations, and can walk between installations while exploring the outdoor area. There will also be two indoor stops at the Dunlop Art Gallery and the Regina Public Library, which will stay open until midnight for the event.

This year will be a pilot project for the festival and, if all goes well, Harazny said Nuit Blanche Regina will look at expanding the festival in future years to run later into the night and include more artists.

The festival is free and open to all ages. The list of Saskatchewan artists selected to showcase their work at the festival will be revealed in the coming days on nuitblancheregina.ca.