Nuit Blanche: Our Lights Are On!

Shining a light on the arts in Regent Park. Parades of fire and neon, shadow puppetry, interactive music, dance, theatre and more.

For the seventh annual Scotiabank Nuit Blanche, Daniels Spectrum plays host to an interactive installation, with tenant organizations coming together to illuminate and enliven the spaces.

Projects

Native Earth Performing Arts (7:00 pm to 7:00 am)
One man’s beacon is another man’s sirensong. Native Earth invites First Nations artists working in all disciplines to create interpretations of Thomas King’s A Short History of Indians in Canada. Thomas King will start the evening at 7:00 pm with a reading of his work that was the inspiration for the artist’s interpretations. Then it’s an exciting evening of viewing the recorded interpretive work by participating artists enrolled in Native Earth’s Animikiig and Thundering Voices Program, students at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre, established artists, elders, Storytellers and community members.

ArtHeart (7:00 pm to 7:00 am)
ArtHeart Community Art Centre presents INTO THE LIGHT, a shadow puppet theatre experience. ArtHeart will be constructing 2D and 3D shadow puppets and environments during Nuit Blanche. Sharing stories of the ever-changing Regent Park, ArtHeart participants will build a shadow theatre environment projected onto a screen, which reflects the evolving Regent Park skyscape. Come build a shadow puppet with us and tell your own story.

Regent Park School of Music (7:00 pm to 4:00 am)
Join the Projector Jam! While The Nuit Blanche Citizen’s Band plays, the lyrics and music for familiar tunes will be projected on a large screen so the public can sing and play along on guitars, shakers, tambourines and other random instruments.

Regent Park Film Festival (7:00 pm to midnight)
Artist Amy Siegel works in collaboration with five young women from the Regent Park Focus Divas Girls Group to create an installation near the Dundas Street entrance to the building.

COBA Collective of Black Artists (10:00 pm to 11:00 pm)
COBA Collective of Black Artists presents, Lite de Flambeaux, an interactive parade and performance. Flambeaux is an urban telling of the story of the Canboulay Riots in Trinidad and Tobago in 1881. In the 1800’s this riot signified a protest of oppression by British colonials by burning the cane fields. Fevered chants were sung while walking through the plantations, very much same is done now to protest injustices to all. Flambeaux symbolizes the light of the oppressed and a beacon of new beginnings.

Christian Resource Centre House Band (11:00 pm to 1:30 am)
The band, Inspired Souls with lead singer Raymond Malozziis, is a group of community members who jam once a week at the Christian Resource Centre at 40 Oaks. Their group is open to all that know how to play an instrument or sing, playing soft rock music from the 1960s to 2000s. Their goal is to create community in the Regent Park area. The band has attracted talented musicians from the southeast Toronto area and will be playing in the Artscape Lounge.

Regent Park Focus – Last Fridays (6:30pm to 10:30pm)
Regent Park Focus Youth Media Arts Centre will host its free monthly community event in the Artscape Lounge. The evening will showcase some of Toronto’s best local talent, including performances by the Regent Park Focus House Band, Jennifer LFO, The Memberz, Shara Claire & David Aubrey Berger, Aslam Shaheen, Murr featuring Rosina, and Good Clean Feeling. The featured musical genres include reggae, Punjabi pop, electronica, folk, and Afro-Cuban drumming. In addition, the event will include four free raffle draws for tickets to the next Toronto Argonauts Football Club’s home game. The raffle will be assisted by the Argonaut’s mascot “Jason” from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. If you don’t win, you’ll still be eligible for a special 30% ticket discount, so come on by and join the fun. All ages are welcome. This event is made possible with the support of the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, Artscape and the Daniels Corporation.