A Guide to Nuit Blanche 2009

Nuit Blanche, or as the rather un-poetic anglos at Hydro Quebec would have it, the Montreal All-Nighter, has quickly grown into a wonder & amazement of art happenings, with hundreds of events occurring across a single night. Museums and galleries are open late, parties go into the wee hours, and there’s weird shit getting funded all across the city. What’s more exciting for me is how many people get out to this thing - for one night in February, the downtown is rammed with people who want to see art. It’s amazing.

Of course as soon as there’s lots of people, there’s also crowds. And as soon as there’s funding, there’s shitty stuff. And so given the wealth of options on Saturday night, here for you are Inside the Frozen Mammoth’s tips for 2009. No, we don’t recommend the planetarium - or the free breakfast. And take it from us, the Belgo Building can often feel like one of the circles of hell. But there’s a whole lot of splendours.

Pro-tips:

• The best way to do Nuit Blanche is to be a dilettante: If something sucks, leave. If something’s great, stay for a while. Flit and float and you’ll find wonders - truly and seriously.
• This year, the metro runs all night. And it’s FREE. No, it’s NOT free. Oops!
• If you’re the type, we suggest you bring a flask.
• Dress warmly, for yr sprints from building-to-building, but keep in mind that you’ll probably spend most of your time indoors, with nowhere to put your coat/hat/scarf.
• Forget about travelling in large groups - go small, plan sporadic meet-ups.
• Make a plan.

Below we have listed the stuff we’ll check out, or die trying, at: Old Montreal locations, the Belgo Building, Downtown (which is very close to the Belgo Building, and so can be thought of in the same “planning” sections of your minds), the Sous-Terrain locals (also basically downtown, so lump ‘em in your visit there) and finally, the Plateau/Mile-End. If you’re having trouble navigating our choices and want just 10 things you gotta-absolutely-must-see…

Our 10 most essential picks are:

1. Gallery Pangée Group Drawing Installation
2. SoCalled at Place-des-Arts
3. [The User] - Symphonie no.2 pour imprimantes matricielles
4. Christian Marclay at the DHC/ART Foundation
5. Alaska B. et Attwood - Yamantaka//Sonic Titan III
6. The Pines Party
7. Le Gymnase - le pARTy
8. Takashi Ishida and Yuki Kawamura’s films at the MACM
9. Birds of prey, near Olympic Stadium
10. Pillow hats!

You can also view all of our recommendations in a special GoogleMaps page.

Here are all the details:

Good Stuff in Old Montreal:

I was speaking to Osvaldo Ramirez recently, and he mentioned how challenging and exciting it’s been for him to collaboratively work on the drawing currently emerging on the walls at Gallery Pangée (40, rue Saint-Paul West). On Nuit Blanche, come see the drawing in its latest incarnation, (almost finished I believe) and root on the likes of Ramirez, Tyler Rauman, Lisa Czech and Jack Dylan for their fine efforts.

DHC/ART Foundation for Contemporary Art is a fairly new, totally exciting exhibition space in the Old Port (451, Saint-Jean Street) and if you’ve never had an opportunity to get down and check out their digs, Nuit Blanche is the time to do it. Their current exhibition is a retrospective of the amazing Christian Marclay’s brilliant work. Go see REPLAY, and then come sign up for the workshop DHC, Art Pop and Articule are running inspired by his work.

Finally, if you’re sortof near the old port, you gotta go check out Usine C, (1345, ave Lalonde, metro Beaudry) which is having an all-night party of installations, dance, inventions and gaiety. They’ve invited the Big Art Group from New York to come party down with us so go give ‘em a big welcome and stay for their sure-to-be-awesome show.

What We’re Gonna Check out in the Belgo Building:

The Belgo Building (372, Sainte-Catherine Street West) is a staple for art roving behaviour, both on Nuit Blanche and during the rest of the year as well. It’s a great place to familiarize oneself with, especially when it’s ouvert to all and you can go and rummage through bits and hallways as half-sober or drunk as you’d like and no one notices the difference.

These are the highlights as for Saturday’s ALL NIGHT PARTY once you’re in the land known as the Belgo, in no specific order:

1.  Special Project for Art Matters Les Territoires Contemporary Art Gallery, Espace 527 (basically go to the 5th floor)

This is an all-night installation (till 2 a.m.) about the end of the world, which will be in 2012 (also at 2 a.m.). Here’s what Jessica Campbell, one of the particiapants, has to say for the project: “Think a mix of someone mopping up champagne, possibly an earth shaped pinata, donuts, a doomsday clock, a video of cooked hams “doing it,” an earthquake drillup from the floor while you watch, and other weirdness. Should be great.

2. Joyce Yahouda Gallery - Espace 516

Before you go to the end of the world, check out what Joyce Yahouda, one of the BEST commercial galleries in Montreal, has up on its walls right now. There’s going to be souvenir making there too (i.e. hands on crafty things for all), and some open mic stuff. Featuring the art of Sébastien Worsnip, Ianick Raymond and Sarah Bertrand-Hamel.

3. Amber Albrecht at Gallery Division - Suite 311

I’ve always loved Amber Albrecht’s work, but of late she’s showing that her artistic muscles have been pumping serious iron, as her work that is on view at Gallery Division demonstrates. I feel like Albrecht is coming into her own and pushing herself further in really exciting ways. The opening for this, her first solo show, is from 3 p.m. - 6 p.m., so come early to the Belgo and then go eat in China Town before going out for the later activities. You won’t regret it.

4. Studio 303 presents Factory 303 - Espace 303

Studio 303 will present activities and installations inspired by Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. I’ve never played rockband, and you can here on Nuit Blanche, which just seems like a really good idea.

Good Stuff Downtown

Montreal’s downtown is dominated by, uh, big buildings and concert halls and things, so there aren’t as many tiny galleries to explore as other parts of the city. Instead, you need to find the big places where the raddest small installations have taken place. Don’t forget that the “underground” programming (see below) is mostly downtown as well!

If you’re heading out early enough, go to one of UQAM’s Pillow Hat stations (the only address I can find is the Pavillon Judith-Jasmin, 405, Ste-C est, at the St-Denis & Ste-C entrance). These are stations where design students are letting people borrow, er, Pillow Hats. Which sound better in French, as chapeaux-oreiller. They let you “fall asleep while standing up”, which is hilarious, but also they are PILLOW HATS and so these are probably a must. After Nuit Blanche they are going to be distributed to the homeless.

At UQAM’s CDEx, art students have a big interdisciplinary art installation planned until 5am, exploiting the centre’s architecture as a “massive interface between the interiot and the exterior”. “Cumbia-expérimental-glam-electronica-tropical,” they say, to which we say “yes-oui-ok-daccord-olé”. On your way west, pass by contemporary photography gallery VOX to see an upcoming photography exhibition, At Work And Play, as film-collage.

The Musée d’art contemporain is a major hub for Nuit Blanche activities and one of the best ways to spend a couple of hours. Their exhibitions are open until 5am, including the important (but mostly boring) Tousignant expo, and a beautiful set of eerie animated films by Takashi Ishida and Yuki Kawamura (in the basement). That screening, in particular, seems like a magical 3am plan. There are some special installations too, and a “chocolate bar” that offers a perfect midnight espresso-chocolate.

The downtown’s big buildings and concert halls make it among the best place for Nuit Blanche’s film and music offerings. The Fantasia Fest’s programming (fb) of gore, sci-fi, fantasy, weird cartoons and asian action shorts are showing at the Place des Arts’ Theatre Maisonneuve. The Sundance Festival (fb) has meanwhile sent a program of shorts to the Monument National, including lots of Montreal premieres and a film starring Melissa Auf der Maur. Chi-chi! Sundance’s short film programmer, Shane Smith, will also be there, at least until he falls asleep.

It’s not a terrific night for music but there are a couple of bright spots (and everything’s free). SoCalled is playing at Place des Arts at 3am and 4:15am, and then over at Metropolis (fb), the festivities are non-stop. Bounce les gros with NinjaTune’s Ghislain Poirier at 3am, followed by Khiasma at 4am. Khiasma is one of the city’s fastest rising DJs, genius of musics faraway, and a man who helped make the Inside the Frozen Mammoth launch so wonderful.

And finally, if you’re downtown it means that at any time you are near a metro. This means that you can zoom to any of the other sections above and below - but also that you can zoom out near the Biodome and Olympic Stadium. A lot of the stuff out there sucks or costs money, but listen - there’s one thing that’s rad. They will be loosing birds of prey. Yes. Remember that. If at any time (’til 1am) you feel bored or drained, remember - you’re just a free subway ride from loosed birds of prey.

What We’re Gonna Check out in the Sous Terrain havoc:

1. Souvenir de Saint-Henri - Place Bonaventure, 800 de la Gauchetiere

Isa B. has, in these paintings, created an hommage to a neighbourhood both rich in its cultural history (Louis Cyr was a police officer in this southwest quartier back in the day) and ripe with change, as major gentrification is morphing the feeling and sensibility of the hood in a big way. I lived in St.Henri for years and have a major soft spot for the south west, so I am definitely going to be checking this out.

2. Symphonie no.2 pour imprimantes matricielles - Place Bonaventure

Years ago, in the dead of my first Montreal winter, I got into a snow ball fight with my roommates and a bunch of strangers. We all ended up walking/fighting in the same direction, and when we arrived home, everyone stopped the violence for a minute to exchange hello-and-who-are-yous. One of the guys I met that night was Emmanuel Madan, on his way to San Francisco to do some sound piece involving dot matrix printers.

I’ve always wanted to see the resulting work (which has shown elsewhere since) and on Nuit Blanche, his art collective, [The User], (Emmanuel Madan and Thomas McIntosh) will be installing their symphony for dot matrix printers at Place Bonaventure. I can’t wait, and shall arrive with snow in tow.

3. Survival Blanket for an Underground City - Gare Central, Metro Bonaventure

Survival Blanket for an Underground City is an installation created specifically for Montreal’s “Art Souterrain.” The artists’ aim was to make a quilt that would function as a cozy resting place for the many visitors throughout the evening. Focus Group is a collective of young emerging female artists from Ottawa who work in different fields but find inspiration in working on collaborations. 6pm-5am.

4. Un cirque vivant ! - Palais des Congrès, 1001 Place Jean-Paul-Riopelle, Place d’Armes

I hope this event doesn’t have an actual elephant (I highly doubt it) but it’s going to be one of the latest events going on for Nuit Blanche, and basically sounds like it’ll be one big crazy contortionist circus extravaganza. Patrick Lacharité, of Below the Sea, will be one of the DJs too, which doesn’t hurt the events chances of success, cause he’s a great musician and pretty darned cute, too.

5. Fred Laforge - ( )07 - Centre de commerce mondial, Square-Victoria metro

Fred Laforge does short, little animations that will be on display at the Centre de Commerce, and once you’ve seen them and got accustomed to this element of his work, keep your eyes out for his absolutely stunning drawings.

6. Diane Obomsawin - Madame Oboum - Centre de commerce mondial, Square-Victoria metro

One of this blog’s favourite animators and local artists, Diane Obomosawin will be showing some of her most recent animations, 14 in all.

7. Karine Giboulo - All You Can Eat - Centre de commerce mondial, Square-Victoria metro

Another one of my favourite artists of the city, who does amazing and irreverent sculptures that look like frosted icing bubble lands you’d like to live in. Can’t wait to see her newest fantastical miniature worlds.

8. Alaska B. et Attwood - Yamantaka//Sonic Titan III - Eaton’s Centre, McGill metro

This duo had an awesome installation grace the Articule space last summer, and they’re up to their spectacular and challenging behaviour here again with another installation, this time at the Eaton’s centre.

What We’re Gonna Check out in the Plateau/Mile End:

This year might be the first  that the city includes Mile End/The Plateau into the mix of Nuit Blanche craziness, and the buses will be free and running all the way up to artistic things North of Sherbrooke, which could potentially include your aesthetic abode at 3 a.m. Here’s the juiciest bits to rip your teeth into, metaphorically speaking, in this neighbourhood where to drink, you’ve gotta order food:

1. Slightly Uncanny - PUSH Gallery, 5264 St Laurent (just north of Fairmount)

PUSH Gallery is a new, passionately curated addition to the commercial gallery scene in Montreal, and is a great asset for this neighbourhood. Megan Bradley infuses everything she does there with aesthetic intent and integrity, and I am very excited to follow the growth and developments of the space.

Kyle Beal, Patrick Lundeen & Stacy Lundeen are currently inhabiting the gallery with a group show entitled Slightly Uncanny, and for Nuit Blanche, Galerie PUSH will present film screenings of Patrick Lundeen’s Sin Will Find You Out, with Lundeen introducing and discussing his film. All three artists will be present throughout the evening and toasty warm treats will be served all night.

2. Red Bird Studios Portes Ouverts - 135 Van Horne

Come peruse the works of the many talented artists at the Red Bird studios.  There’s going to be live silk screening, video work and interactive pieces.

3. 24 Hours of Wandering the Americas - Bain St MIchel, 5300 St Dominique Street

This event literally starts at noon on the 28th and ends at noon the following day.  Collective reflections on the Americas in an festive ambience. Bain St Michel is an awesome venue, and this one intrigues me with its thematics as well as its promises of kitschy glory and interactive art.

4. Everything or nothing: rather everything! - Occurrence, espace d’art et d’essai contemporains -5277 Avenue Du Parc

A fun chance to visit the artist-run-centre Occurence in their new space, this evening hosted by Ève Cadieux sounds like a flea market of sorts, which is never, never a bad thing.

5. - Le Gymnase - le pARTy - 4177 St-Denis

The fire-damaged Gymase, on St-Denis at Rachel, hosts one of the night’s most inventive parties. It’s called “le pARTy” (fb), but don’t hold that against it. ”Presented as a traditional dance-party, with all the necessary ingredients (DJ, VJ, dance-floor, disco lights, bar), this “party” will be entirely choreographed”, their statement reads. While I am sure everyone will be allowed to dance eventually as well, it means that some of the cities’ most exciting emerging contemporary dance choreographers - Erin Flynn, Sasha Kleinplatz, Andrew Tay, Katie Ward among others, - are staging original work, all in one big ridiculous, unpretentious gala. Most of us see contemporary dance so rarely, and it can be absolutely energising in the right context. I have a good feeling about this one. 10pm-3am.

The thing in Griffintown:

And finally, one of the night’s best multi-disciplinary events seems to ba happening off-grid - that is, as far as I can tell, a not-officially-Nuit-Blanche happening. Studio/performance space The Pines (316 Murray St, in Griffintown) is hosting music, sound, light and weirdness in its creaky wooden walls. Loops and drones and psych-outs by THAMES and Monday Morning Erection, a sound installation by David Bryant (formerly of Godspeed, Set Fire To Flames, etc), and “the best projections we’ve ever seen” by Karl Lemieux. Starts at 10pm. (fb)

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