The highly anticipated night of hidden art will not be cancelled by COVID-19. 

Taking place on March 19 and 20, Nuit Blanche YXE is putting on Winter’s End, a two-night festival featuring artwork from local and national artists. The festival is a celebration of another winter leaving the cold province of Saskatchewan.

In previous years, Nuit Blanche YXE has taken place in September and October, with installations in alleyways and on the sides of buildings available into the late hours of the night. People interacted with installations and were able to take their time with each piece. 

After the emergence of COVID-19, festivals across the globe were affected, but some managed to carry on. With limited hours and an advisory not to gather at installations, Winter’s End will carry on to provide a much needed connection and community involvement in a time of isolation.

Nuit Blanche is an outdoor festival that has grown into a global arts movement since its emergence in Paris two decades ago. It began as a way to show off the city in a new and original way. Using art to interact with different locations in a city, it encourages participants and spectators alike to get to know their surroundings in a unique way. 

Each year, the festival takes on a new theme, which the artworks are based on. Multitude of art forms are encouraged for Nuit Blanche, as the installations often include theatre, music, art projections, performances and interactive projects. 

The art installations in Nuit Blanche reach a new audience in a completely different atmosphere. The festival combines the art installations with an evening social setting that invites people of all ages to join, creating a culturally diverse experience most traditional art exhibition settings cannot replicate. The social setting not only fosters a sense of community, it also invites first-time spectators into the creative world.

In larger cities such as Toronto, Nuit Blanche is known to be a night when the streets are full. The festival takes over the city and often attracts crowds in the millions. The Toronto festival has featured artists such as Charlotte Day Wilson and Margaret Atwood in the past, making it a must-see event.

For smaller cities, the event features many more local artists. This form of the festival is a celebration of the arts community in the city and continues to attract a large crowd. This is the case for the Paris of the Prairies.

Nuit Blanche arrived in Saskatoon in 2014 and has been an annual event ever since. 

Being altered slightly to our colder climate, the Saskatoon festival ends in the late hours of the night rather than early the next morning. Installations are scattered throughout the streets and on the sides of buildings of 33rd Street, Riversdale, Broadway and Downtown Saskatoon.

Although this past year has looked a little different for Nuit Blanche, Saskatoon is continuing to host the festival while adapting to the circumstances.

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Holly Gilroy | Contributing Reporter

Photo: J.C. Balicanta Narag | Editor-in-Chief