New York may be the city that never sleeps AND the self-professed cultural capital of the world, but somehow, despite its cred, it has neglected to take part in the international all-night art festival that is Nuit Blanche. In cities far and wide, ranging from Paris to St. Petersburg to Tel Aviv, Nuit Blanche is one night of the year when the entire city revels in a celebration of the arts. Museums and galleries are open all night and free of charge, public art installations and performances pop up all over, turning the city itself into a makeshift art gallery, and thoroughly boozed up culture hounds wander from gallery to gallery to gawk at art and one another (which, come to think of it, is not altogether different from what goes on in New York’s Chelsea district every Thursday night).But New York’s first-ever Nuit Blanche, dubbed Bring to Light by its organizers, seems to be a more DIY affair. The entire festival is centered around a few blocks in Greenpoint, and while the festival promises more than 50 projects from artists across the US, it appears that only the local Greenpoint galleries will be participating in the open-house policy. Also noteworthy: the party only lasts from 7pm-12am! New Yorkers have definitely been jipped on this one.Although it pales in comparison to the Nuit Blanche’s we’ve seen overseas, we applaud the organizers’ efforts at getting it started here in NYC. Maybe next year they’ll have a little help from Bloomberg and the NYC cultural community so they can really do it up right.
FYI.
This story is over 5 years old.
New York's First Ever "Nuit Blanche"
New Yorkers get a taste of the worldwide, night-long art party.