Call for Proposals for Nuit Blanche Toronto 2023: Breaking Ground

John Notten, Tug, Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2022. Photo by Patrick Leung.

Calling all artists!

Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s all-night contemporary art event, will take place on September 23, 2023, in neighbourhoods across the city, including major exhibition areas in Etobicoke, downtown and Scarborough. This year, the City of Toronto seeks to uncover and highlight artists whose ground-breaking practices challenge the status quo through media, form or content that transforms public spaces and inspires the public to see and experience Toronto in new and meaningful ways.

The 2023 curatorial theme, Breaking Ground, speaks to ideas centred around the natural world as well as being on the vanguard of change and innovation. Defined as the preparation for building or planting, Breaking Ground invites artists to explore a multiplicity of themes, including but not limited to the implications of climate change, construction and development of the city’s urban landscape, the impacts on communities and our collective responsibilities around land and stewardship.

Interested in having your work presented at Nuit Blanche Toronto 2023? The City of Toronto is now accepting project proposals for the Nuit Blanche Open Call and Independent Project programs.

Nike Onile, The Dinner Table: A Citywide Collective Celebration, Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2022. Photo by Sam Javanrouh.

Open Call Projects

The Open Call Program is open to Canadian and international artists and collectives. Projects are selected by Nuit Blanche’s Curators from submissions through an Open Call application. Open Call Projects are funded up to $11,000 CAD and produced by the City of Toronto. Applications should respond to the curatorial theme of the event, Breaking Ground, and be staged in one of the key exhibition areas.

Learn more about Open Call Program eligibility, guidelines and how to apply.

Submission deadline: Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

If you have further questions about the Open Call Program, please contact Rachel.Fender@toronto.ca.

Esmond Lee, Spatial Threads, Nuit Blanche Toronto, 2022. Photo by Anthony Gebrehiwot.

Independent Projects

Nuit Blanche Independent Projects are self-produced projects sited in traditional and non-traditional art spaces across Toronto – this may include the public realm, parks, galleries, storefronts, office towers, streets and sidewalks. Toronto-based applicants from any artistic discipline are eligible, but proposals should respond to the Breaking Ground theme, have a strong visual component and be rooted in contemporary art practice.

Learn more about Independent Project Program eligibility, guidelines and how to apply.

Submission deadline: Sunday, March 5, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

If you have further questions about the Independent Project Program, please contact Gabrielle.Johnson@toronto.ca.

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