Toronto’s Nuit Blanche returns on October 4 and these are the 2SLGBTQI+ installations you should consider adding to your list…
Get ready to pull an all-nighter! Nuit Blanche is back celebrating contemporary art across Toronto from North York to Etobicoke to downtown. From 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. people will explore over 85 works by local, national and international artists.
This year, there are several 2SLGBTQI+ artists displaying pieces in every corner of the city. Some will help us through heartbreak, learn about queer history or have us dancing the night away.
There are about a dozen 2SLGBTQI+ works to check out and we’ve picked a few you should consider adding to your list.
5 Years at Home by Laurence Philomène
Where: Humber College (G Cottage) at 205 Humber College Blvd.
This piece invites audiences to enter a living space where they will be immersed in a cozy, colourful environment inspired by the artist’s home. Engage in an autobiographical film chronicling Philomène’s evolving sense of self as a non-binary person taking testosterone over a period of five years. The video projection consists of colourful daily photographs stitched into a 10-minute stop-motion video piece, accompanied by an ambient soundscape and voice-over narration.
Disappearing Acts by Nina Jeffares-Levitt
Where: Sonkofa Square
Experience the joy of dancing to a live DJ while discovering history. This video installation is a homage to bars and nightclubs that were once the heart and soul of Toronto’s gay and lesbian communities. Now vanished—some short-lived, others decades strong—they were safe havens where lovers met, friendships forged and where LGBTQ2+ spirits soared.
From the longstanding St. Charles Tavern and The Rose to lesser-known haunts, these establishments helped to shape queer identity and health, and the city’s diverse culture. Factors like the AIDS crisis, urban gentrification, COVID-19, and social media have all contributed to their disappearance.
For The Youth by Alexis Nanibush-Pamajewong
Where: 361 University Ave.
This immersive installation and participatory gathering honours the youth of Tsi’ Tkaronto and communities across Turtle Island. Open to all nations and cultures, this event features round dances and youth performers interwoven with vibrant performances by local youth dancers, including hoop, jingle dress, shawl, and fancy dancers. Live performances and round dances take place from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. It is a celebration and a call for collective responsibility, offering a deeply moving experience rooted in remembrance, resilience, and shared hope.
Lamination 1.0 by Studio Rat
Where: North York Centre at 5150 Yonge St.
This large-scale, suspended installation transforms discarded plastics into a vibrant quilt-like artwork, exploring collective agency in the process. Composed of over 3,600 handmade tiles and more than 70 pounds of reclaimed sheet plastics and packaging, Lamination 1.0 gathers together years of collected material from Studio Rat’s archive and new contributions from community members who share the same habit of holding on. The piece invites us to reflect on the ways we handle, remember, and reimagine waste.
Letters To Your Ex by WhyWithCai
Where: Waterworks Food Hall at 50 Brant Street
What would you tell your ex if you could say one thing to them? Heartbreak is one of the most universal human experiences, yet society rarely gives us space to grieve it. This project is meant to change that. This immersive installation is designed to help people feel less alone as they navigate heartbreak. In a softly lit room, hundreds of letters to exes are displayed. These letters are written by people around the world and vary from crushes to situationships to exclusive relationships. Throughout the night, visitors are invited to write and add their own letters becoming part of a growing collection of shared stories and healing.
S’imbriquer by Philippe Dépelteau
Where: Mel Lastman Square Orchard at 5100 Yonge St.
S’imbriquer, (sahn-bree-kay) comes from a French word meaning to ‘interlink’ or ‘intentionally come together.’ It considers ideas of interconnectedness and collaboration. A landscape of bricks comes to life through a shared, intimate choreography, where bodies and materials become living architecture. As the bricks are moved, the performers experience cycles of repair and ruin. The city’s fabric becomes part of the performance. It opens new ways of imagining how we live and build together — with intention, sensitivity and solidarity. Like watching clouds shift and form, S’imbriquer offers a quiet, reflective space to ask: What kinds of worlds are we building?
Wishing Well: Alphabet Soup by xLq, Elizabeth Staples, Stella Conway
Where: Buddies at Bad Times Theatre at 12 Alexander Street
An immersive, interactive installation with a dance party inside. In this city, we are all letters. Fragments of a word, pieces of a community. Which letter are you? What flavour will you add to this soup? No matter what language you speak or which alphabet you use, we need you here. Every area of Buddies in Bad Times will be filled with letters to unscramble and play with. DJs will spin all night and they’re also serving alphabet soup! Wishing Well is a queer, witchy dance party ritual. A divine feminine space for freaks and friends to gather, play and connect.
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