A Parisian tradition came to D.C. for a night, flooding the District with eight hours of music, visual and interactive art, poetry and a fashion show.
The Art All Night: Nuit Blanche festival is a contemporary art showcase organized by volunteers who aimed to bring a unique collaboration of art from different medias to neighborhood venues. Nuit Blanche was D.C.’s first-ever overnight arts festival.
With over 20 gallery locations across the city, spreading from Chinatown to Shaw, and a shuttle to transport visitors, the free festival brought a heavy dose of culture before the clock struck 3 a.m.
Attracting a diverse crowd, from teenagers to older couples, the festival had art enthusiasts roaming the streets in search of modern and unusual art at District warehouses and galleries.
Ariana Austin, the founder and creative director of Art All Night DC, taught English as a language assistant while living in the suburbs of Paris. Her artistic and cultural experiences in Paris inspired her to bring the concept of an all-night art festival back home to D.C.
Blaze One, a local graffiti artist, painted a live tag for the crowd.
“You got to do something nice. Doesn’t matter where it is…if the image is right, if the colors are right, if the whole composition is visibly pleasing, you can’t deny its beauty,” Blaze One said.
Not far from the graffiti exhibition, an interactive light installation created by Brian Davis, a professorial lecturer in new media, called “Networks” seemed to perplex nearby guests.
The sculpture is meant to reflect the networks of interpersonal connections and relationships, David said. The artwork consists of a circle of chairs with lights hanging over each seat. A convoluted structure of boards connects the chairs and lights together.
Davis filmed the initial reactions people had upon seeing his installation, allowing for interactive participation from his audience.
“When one person sits down [on a chair], their individual spotlight turns off, but when a group of people all sit down together, all the lights come on together. It has to be a group effort,” Davis said.
Timothy Johnson, a local artist whose work is displayed at the artist-owned Touchstone Gallery, described Art All Night as a new and enjoyable experience.
“It’s a lot of fun. We’ve had a great response. People who haven’t seen our gallery before are here,” Johnson said.
The nonprofit organization Shaw Main Streets presented the event and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities awarded a Festivals DC grant to help sponsor the citywide event.
Peggy Montgomery, a volunteer, hopes art festivals like these will continue to grow in size and number.
“I think it’s going to get better and bigger,” Montgomery said. “We need this…festivals are all over Europe, but we don’t have them much [in the U.S.], so I think it’d be great it if really gets going.”
