Nuit Blanche at OCAD U: "Intertwined Memories" and "Vitrines Lumineuses"

Nuit Blanche at OCAD U:
Intertwined Memories and Vitrines Lumineuses
 

WHEN: October 3 at 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on October 4
WHERE: Butterfield Park and 51 McCaul St.

OCAD University is once again participating in the all-night celebration of contemporary art, Nuit Blanche Toronto, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and coincides with OCAD U’s 150th anniversary as well. There will be installations on campus as well as off campus.

ON CAMPUS

At the University’s campus at 100 McCaul St., from 7 p.m. on October 3 to 7 a.m. on October 4, the public are invited to participate in the interactive installation, Intertwined Memories, created by OCAD University Associate Professor and mixed media visual storyteller Dr. Kathy Moscou. The installation will be in Butterfield Park.

Visitors can also experience the collaborative project, Vitrines Lumineuses/Luminous Windows, at 51 McCaul St. during the same times.

INTERTWINED MEMORIES – NUMBER 39 (NUIT BLANCHE MAP)

Visitors will be invited to weave their memories and expressions of speculative futures into a braided sculpture that grows in length over the course of the evening with every story added. A variety of fabrics, drawing and writing materials will be available for visitors to utilize to inscribe or draw their stories.

The braids, comprised of fabric and synthetic hair, will be intertwined to form a braided net, building on the concept of cultural intertwining. Hair braiding is a process in which strands of hair are interwoven and is a metaphor of the interweaving and strengthening relational bonds often reflected in my own work. Hair is a thread that connects people and embodies cultural storytelling.

Intertwined Memories reveals and reclaims the stories and collective memories of Toronto’s diverse population, and in doing so becomes part of tomorrow’s collective memory, aligning with the Nuit Blanche theme of Tomorrow’s Memories.

Associate Professor at OCAD U, Dr. Kathy Moscou, MoscouArt, would like to thank OCAD University for providing the venue for Intertwined Memories at Butterfield Park.

VITRINES LUMINEUSES

At 51 McCaul St., the projection, Vitrines Lumineuses/Luminous Windows will be on display. First presented at the Mons en lumières festival in January 2026, this edition showcases new animated interactive projections on the theme of the cultural history of natural and artificial light and its visual manifestations. 

The projection is a collaborative project by students from OCAD U's Experimental Animation and visiting students from the Belgian art school, Arts² (Mons, BE) Digital Arts and Applied Interactive Music programs. The project is led by OCAD U’s Interim Dean of the Faculty of Art Philippe Blanchard and Arts² professors Martin Waroux and Cédric Sabato.

Presented with support from the Ontario Arts Council | Conseil des arts de l'Ontario, Ministère des affaires francophones de l'Ontario, Délégation Wallonie Bruxelles, Wallonie Bruxelles International, and Wallonie Bruxelles Enseignement.

OFF CAMPUS

On October 3, SILO NIGHTS at Nuit Blanche is presenting The Light by Paul Murnaghan and Melting Temporalities by Claire Brunet and Johnny Ranger at the Marina Quay West (Canada Malting Silos). These projections are presented in partnership with the Delegation of the European Union to Canada and the Global Centre for Climate Action at OCAD University.

SILO NIGHTS, curated by OCAD U, is part of Public Pier, presented by The Bentway, Harbourfront Centre, OCAD University, and Waterfront BIA. The Toronto Port Authority is the lead sponsor.

ABOUT NUIT BLANCHE

The all-night celebration of contemporary art, Nuit Blanche Toronto, returns on October 3, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. on October 4, marking its 20th anniversary. This year, the celebration will reflect on two decades of art and artists transforming the city. Through collaboration with thousands of artists locally and globally, from the new to the established, Nuit Blanche has altered Toronto’s streets, cultural spaces and audiences in an all-night celebration of art.

The 2026 theme, Tomorrow’s Memories, looks back to the artists, curators, communities and places that defined Nuit Blanche and hold its histories. But this is not just about the past, it’s a way to look at the present and a provocation for the future. Past Nuit Blanche artworks will be revisited, re-visioned and recontextualized while artists can also propose new works that consider personal and collective memory and histories as a tool for storytelling, reflection and dreaming of possible futures.