The Global All-night Arts Festival in Taipei
Nuit Blanche is an annual all-night arts festival that originated in Paris and takes place on the first Saturday night of October. The core concepts of the Nuit Blanche are urban innovation and public space design. Nuit Blanche invites the public to explore new aspects and depths of the city by making urban spaces and contemporary art accessible to the audience. Nuit Blanche has three unique characters, “all-night events”, “free for all” and “civic engagement”. Nuit Blanche transcends the boundary between popular entertainment and fine arts, introducing cross-genre, cross-culture and cross-generation performances and artworks. Nuit Blanche transforms the city through art and turns Taipei into a gigantic art gallery!
Gongguan, the Intersection of Independent Spirits and Multiculturalism
In 2016, Taipei joined other international cities to host the very first Nuit Blanche of Taiwan, which was passionately received by the public and attracted the participation of over 200,000 people. In 2017, the Nuit Blanche is moving towards the southern edge of the city, Gongguan, where independent spirits and multiculturalism have thrived during the last several decades. Responding to the cultural complexity of the area, cross-genre, cross-culture and cross-generation artworks and performances are expected to interweave with the narrow alleys and independent spaces, so as to form a glowing web of arts.
The Three Art Treasures in the Southern Edge of Taipei
The main route of Nuit Blanche Taipei 2017 spans over 2 kilometers in Gongguan, covering three major themes -“Electronic Treasure on the Royal Palm Boulevard”, “Independent Treasure on the Streets of Wen-Luo-Ting, and “Cross-cultural Treasure of the Dreamers”.
The “Electronic Treasure on the Royal Palm Boulevard” will be held along both sides of the Boulevard, with interactive installations, art projections, performances and battle of DVJ be presented Classical orchestra compete with electronic music on the main stage, gigantic projection mapping show light up the University library, midnight forum taken place under the starry night as if National Taiwan University turns into a nighttime art university.
“Independent Treasure on the Streets of Wen-Luo-Ting” will be scattered in Wenzhou Street, Roosevelt Road and Tingzhou Road. Here, rebellious spirits and sophisticated aesthetics merge into a unique cultural atmosphere. Jugglers and DJs invite the public to battle together inside and outside of the Taiwan Power Company Building.
At the other end, “Cross-Cultural Treasure of the Dreamers” will span across the Substitute Military Service Center and the Hakka Cultural Park. The Nuit Blanche Village of Literature and Arts will be built in the Service Center; a great variety of local cultures and avant-garde artworks are to be mixed and mingled in the Hakka Park.
During the Nuit Blanche, more than 30 museums and cultural facilities will open till mid-night, including the National Palace Museum, the Presidential Office Building, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum and the Museum of Contemporary Arts Taipei. On October 7th, let us recreate Taipei’s memory and stay up all night for the love of arts! The city belongs to the people; let’s occupy the streets for arts!
