Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Art and culture will light up the night in Stratford Sept. 27 during Gallery Stratford’s first-ever Nuit Blanche.
An eclectic mix of visual artists, musicians, foodies, meditators and others will come together for the sunset-to-sunrise celebration of creativity in and around the Romeo Street gallery.
“I’m very excited for this,” said Gallery Stratford director Aidan Ware, who spearheaded the effort to launch a local Nuit Blanche (white night). “We’ve had some really great proposals come in, so I’m thrilled.”
The Stratford event will be modelled after the original concept by Jean Blaise, founder of the Research Centre for Cultural Development in Nantes, France, back in the mid-80s.
It has since spread around the world, with celebrations held annually in places like Paris, Rome, Madrid and Brussels.
Here in Canada, there are white-night festivities in Ottawa, Montreal, Guelph and Toronto.
“I thought Stratford was a perfect community to have a Nuit Blanche,” said Ware Friday. “It’s small, it’s very walkable, everybody is very connected and the businesses are so supportive.”
Not only that, but residents here have an appetite for cultural experimentation, she suggested.
“This idea of having an all-nighter, with unconventional things happening in your city seems to appeal to people,” said Ware.
Friday was the final day to submit proposals for Stratford’s Nuit Blanche, and Ware said the gallery has received some promising ones, ranging from the mainstream to the offbeat.
The final roster of events has not been finalized yet, but it could include things like a wine and cheese tasting, an artist’s discussion, an acoustic campfire music performance, a jewelry making workshop, a three-dimensional rendering of iconic city buildings, sunset and sunrise yoga sessions, and meditations.
There might even be something Ware described mysteriously as “artistic interventions.”
She said she was pleasantly surprised by the response from the local creative community to the call for proposals.
“I knew it would be interesting to people,” said Ware. “It’s certainly a way for them to be involved with the gallery, and to not only showcase their talents, but to be part of the start of something that’s hopefully going to be really great for Stratford.”
It may start out modestly, but could eventually expand outside of the gallery and throughout the city, she noted.
“We’re hoping that this may be a seed for growth into maybe a larger festival next year and into the future.”
Nuit Blanche will also dovetail with the Culture Days celebration that will be held in Stratford Sept. 26-28.
More information about Nuit Blanche can be found at Gallery Stratford’s website at www.gallerystratford.on.ca under the Events tab.
By Mike Beitz for www.stratfordbeaconherald.com.
Photo: Gallery Stratford. ©2014 Scott Wishart.
2014-08-30
Stratford: Stratford to hold its first Nuit Blanche on September 27