Nuit Blanche — 2014 — Event — Slash Paris

Past: Saturday, October 4, 2014

Each year, art takes over the city for an entire night in Paris. This year’s event is being held in a new location, the Left Bank, with an exciting art trail featuring inventive installations and unusual “viewpoints”. Under the impetus of Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and first deputy mayor Bruno Julliard, the 2014 Nuit Blanche will once again shake up the art scene and reflect the city’s cultural policy: making contemporary art accessible to one and all.

José-Manuel Gonçalvès, the artistic director for this year’s edition, is encouraging visitors to explore Paris’s Left Bank anew with an art trail called “Grande Randonnée Artistique” (G.R.A.), along the lines of France’s hiking paths. The itinerary comprises six “viewpoints”. Unique artworks drawing inspiration from dance, circus arts, music and fine arts and contemporary arts will take over public spaces and turn Paris into an open-air museum for one whole night.

Innovation is the watchword at this year’s NUIT BLANCHE, promoted by the City of Paris: not just original artworks, but also new neighbourhoods to explore.

The Grande Randonnée Artistique (G.R.A.) art trail

The G.R.A. will squeeze a large number of art installations into geographically close locations so as to cut down on waiting times. The trail is depicted as a blue line on the event map, which gives you the full programme at a glance, and on streets along the itinerary. It is the quickest way (20 to 25 minutes) to get from one viewpoint to another on foot or using public transport.

The “fringe” program me

As you follow the G.R.A. to make your way from one viewpoint to another, you’ll find the route dotted with independent (fringe) art initiatives, adding further interest to the NUIT BLANCHE landscape in each neighbourhood. The fringe programme too is outlined on the map, together with details of event partnerships with cultural institutions and galleries.

Unexpected venues, including unknown places

José-Manuel Gonçalvès and the City of Paris were keen to offer visitors an offbeat tour of the city during NUIT BLANCHE 2014.

“Expect the unexpected” is the motto for this year’s edition, with several artworks displayed in surprising venues, some of which are not usually open to the public. The focus is on neighbourhoods that visitors to previous editions of NUIT BLANCHE have yet to explore. Open-air, large-scale venues have been given priority so as to involve as many people as possible. Most of the events will continue all night long.

Hôtel de Ville, the Panthéon, the Gare Montparnasse, Hôpital Necker, the Gare d’Austerlitz, the old Masséna railway station, Parc Georges Brassens, Parc André Citroën, Parc Montsouris: at each of the venues, the public will discover high-impact themes: for example, a museum of contemporary street art in the 13th arrondissement and a performance experimenting with vertigo and the art of suspension along the stretch of the Petite Ceinture, a disused railway line, in the 15th arrondissement.

Program