For one night a year, the streets of Saskatoon are illuminated with art.
Nuit Blanche Saskatoon, the free contemporary street art festival, is making its return at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 23. The event promises to be one of the city’s biggest arts events of the year.
“The artists are different every year, the projects are one night only,” Sean Homenick, one of the festival organizers, said. “You really have to come and experience it.”
This year is a special landmark for Nuit Blanche Saskatoon, marking the 10th festival in the city since Nuit Blanche came to Saskatoon in 2014.
Despite not having a 2020 festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nuit Blanche Saskatoon held both a winter and a fall event in 2021 — so they still reached the milestone of the 10th festival on time in 2023.
And even with the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic still being felt by arts organizations around the world, Nuit Blanche has managed to continue growing year after year. Homenick said the first Nuit Blanche in 2014 featured around 14 art projects — this year’s event includes 55 scattered across the Broadway and Riversdale districts and downtown Saskatoon, and Nuit Blanche Eve at the University of Saskatchewan on Friday night will host 15 more.
“To see the tremendous growth from that first year to what we’re putting on Saturday is kind of amazing,” Homenick said. “When we talk to other Nuit Blanche organizers across Canada, they’re a little surprised at how big the Saskatoon festival is.”
Nuit Blanche has always been a pinnacle of the accessible arts scene. With a wide variety of artistic mediums on display — including projections, sculpture, dance, light installations, music, spoken word and more — there are few events that showcase and celebrate such a wide variety of artistic talent.
Homenick said Nuit Blanche’s accessibility and lack of a ticket price (viewing all the installations is free) is part of the appeal that has kept the festival so popular.
“There shouldn’t be barriers to art. And there has to be something in the art world for every single person to enjoy,” he said.
Nuit Blanche is also accessible for children to enjoy. A number of installations throughout the festival are interactive, such as one project run by the Saskatchewan Printmakers using a steamroller to print linocuts onto shirts that you bring.
Homenick said the organization prides itself on being a family-friendly arts festival, and those projects featuring audience participation have been a great way to involve patrons of all ages.
“We make it fun. We bring the fun to art,” he said.
Numbers to Know:
55 – art projects on Saturday
15 – art projects in Nuit Blanche Eve
2014 – first Nuit Blanche Saskatoon
10,000+ – expected
visitors on Saturday
$0 – cost to attend
5 hours – how long Nuit Blanche runs
14 – “Friends of Nuit” businesses
There’s plenty to enjoy and plenty that’s new in the 10th Nuit Blanche Saskatoon, even beyond the artwork. Shelter Brewing Company has created a special beer for Nuit Blanche, and a number of businesses — called “Friends of Nuit” — and various art galleries through the city have committed to staying open late to be part of the Nuit Blanche festivities.
Homenick said Nuit Blanche Saskatoon transforms the city into something different for the handful of hours it runs each year. It might be the 10th time Saskatoon has had this kind of Nuit Blanche arts festival, but the festival hasn’t lost any of its magic.
“With our festival, for those five hours, the streets are lit. There are crowds of people,” Homenick said. “There’s smiles and light. I think people gravitate to that. It feels like a safe and inclusive space.”
