The seventh edition of the Nuit Blanche is to be held in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) on Oct. 1, with a special focus on immersive live performances, Lin Kun-ying (林昆穎), the event’s director of art, told a news conference on Thursday.
The theme for the all-night event is “Welcome to the Grand Shilin Theater” and it is to turn the district into a “big theater,” with live and immersive performances, Lin said.
Lin, who is in his role for the third consecutive year, said he took inspiration from Broadway in New York, where people attend theatrical performances or other cultural events, enjoy food and drink and go shopping.
Photo: CNA
The 12-hour event, which is to start at 6pm, has four venues or areas, including the Taipei Performing Arts Center and the adjacent Shilin Night Market.
The other two sites are the Shilin Official Residence and the Taipei Science and Art Park, which includes the National Taiwan Science Education Center and the Taipei Astronomical Museum.
Nuit Blanche, an annual event initiated in Paris in 2001, has focused more on visual installations than other forms of artistic expression since it was introduced in Taipei in 2016, Lin said.
However, Lin, who is also a founder of the Taipei-based art collective LuxuryLogico, said that “guerrilla-style performances” — in which the audience is invited to interact with artists and become part of the art — would take center stage this year.
Forty-two individuals or groups would put on 66 performances, including theatrical shows, swing and other dance performances, juggling and music shows, he said.
Twenty art installations are to be scattered across the four sites, including a large light show titled On Blank Page, created by Luzinterruptus, an anonymous Spanish collective, said the Taipei Cultural Affairs Department, the event’s main organizer.
People are invited to contribute to the Spanish work by leaving messages about their memories and feelings that would be projected onto the work, the department said.
The art installations also include Urban Safari, a projection mapping works by French artist Julien Nonnon that will light up buildings with images of about 20 endangered species in Taiwan, the department said.
French Office in Taipei Director Jean-Francois Casabonne-
Masonnave said that he was glad Nuit Blanche is returning to Taipei in a physical format this year.
Last year’s edition was held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns.
The annual event in Taipei, which has been supported by his office since its debut, has become the most important cultural collaboration between Taiwan and France, Casabonne-Masonnave said.
The department said that people who wish to attend Nuit Blanche must observe the government’s COVID-19 prevention protocols, including wearing a mask at all times.
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