This years Nuit Blanche was yet another reminder of the amount of creative talent that is ready to burst out of Scarborough. Here's a quick recap of some of my favourite pieces from my late night visit to this years event.
Ephemereal Artifacts
By Anandam Dancetheatre/Brandy Leary
This combination of audio, sculpture and dance gave the sensation of slowing down time and twisting space. It featured 3,500 bells hanging from the ceiling in a Scarborough Town Centre concourse, cultural dancing, meditative audio and audience participation in the way of walking a path through the performance area or stringing fresh jasmine garlands.
It was the kind of exhibit that makes you question if you're actually sober when you know you are. It bombarded your senses from all angles in a way that made it hard to pull yourself away. I found a spot on the upper level and just took it in for 20 minutes... or 2 minutes...or 2 hours? Who knows...
Scarborough Royalty
By Durothethird
The centrepiece of Nuit Blanche Scarborough combined graffiti on a massive scale with this equally impressive sculpture to take over the square between the Town and Civic Centre. Guests were invited to interact with the "Scarborough Royalty" sculpture on stage and take pictures.
The work belonged to one of the city's most well known artists, Duro3 aka Durothethird. Even if the name isn't immediately familiar, anyone who spent time in the 90's riding the Scarborough RT will remember his murals covering factory walls along the rail corridor from Kennedy to Scarborough Town Centre.
This piece is still available to view in Albert Campbell Square until October 14th. Scarborough Royalty shirts, stickers and even pillows can be purchased at the website below.
UNFOLDING
By The Community Arts Guild
Unfolding, tucked away in the corridors of the Civic Centre, was an interactive piece made up of stories from Scarborough's past and present. Tattered pieces of fabric were woven together to create a tunnel to walk through. Each piece of fabric had someones story written on it, weaving the stories of Scarborough's diverse population together in the process.
Below the City
By Esmond Lee
My personal favourite exhibit of the night lit up about 250 feet along Borough Drive. This vinyl tapestry combined many overlapping images showing off Scarborough's sights; people from all walks of life, apartment blocks, buses, sprawling parking lots and of course our strip malls that I love wandering along and eating through.
It combined images, that would seem mundane to most, together to create beauty from these suburban scenes of daily life.
Visualizing the East Side: A STEAM Project
By Mary Ward STEAMpunks
Inside of the library on Borough Drive there was a collection put together by students of Mary Ward School. Of course the one that caught my eye most was the interactive piece above asking people to claim their favourite Scarborough cuisine.
I was able to find many of the spots featured on our Best of Scarborough Food Tour and some other favourites but the love for Mona's Roti especially caught my eye. No need to fight...I agree they do have the best doubles & roti!
ReConnect STC is another exhibit that will remain up until October 14th in the walkway connecting the Town Centre to the RT station. Created by Mark "Kurupt" Stoddart, it features larger than life images of larger than life Scarborough figures like Kardinal, Maestro, Jamal Magloire, Lilly Singh, Sam Moncada and more. Their images are super imposed onto archival copies of Scarborough Mirror images and articles.
Shirts designed by Stoddart, like the one above, can be purchased at the website below.
It was another incredibly impressive display of East End talent at Nuit Blanche Scarborough and I would hope that, combined with the success of last year, it becomes an annual event going forward.
For those that couldn't make it out I would highly recommend taking in Scarborough Royalty and ReConnect STC by October 14th while they are still display. If you do, don't forget to check out our food guide featuring the best options in vicinity of the Scarborough Town & Civic Centre.