nuit blanche

...is a once-a-year event that is basically a night of contemporary art projects and cultural activities that are open to the public starting at 7pm and ending at 5am. I believe it is done in places all over the world, but the one in Paris is the most well-known. Bars, clubs, and restaurants stay open all night as do many museums and galleries. Needless to say, I had to experience this. While Paris is a small city compared to most capitals, there were Nuit Blanche activities set up all around and I learned that it is virtually impossible to visit the ones I wanted to see in one night. There were a lot of projections on churches and buildings of all different images, depending on the artist. I saw a percussion concert in Saint Eustache, one of my favorite churches, went to the Centre Pompidou for free, and went to a theater to watch music videos by one of my favorite directors, Michel Gondry. Plus, all around the city there were small installations like sculptures and video projections, and large ones, like the illumination of Jardin de Tuileries with 2000 lights. The metro line close to my home was open all night and was free, and all of the major installations were centered around it so people could access them easily: I was most amazed at the encouragement of art and culture by Delanoe, the Paris mayor, and at the fact that the whole night, you barely saw any advertisements of plugs; it was almost completely funded by the city. A very different experience in the states. Plus the fact that he encouraged people to stay out all night and participate in an artistic event was incredible. Not to mention the rugby game was the same night. France won. Needless to say, there were more people and in general more loud and drunk people than there would have been on any other night. But it added to the atmosphere. Another successful cultural event brought to you by Paris.

xoxo