From sunset on Saturday to sunrise Sunday morning, more than 150 art installations took over the streets of Toronto for Nuit Blanche. In honour of the end of the Mayan calendar in 2012, the overarching theme of this year's art festival was the apocalypse. While organizers are still estimating the size of the crowd, the sprawling event usually attracts some 1 million guests.
The art festival—which felt more like an art party in some spots—was divided into four areas, each with a different curator and theme. Downtown south and west made up zone A, with the theme "Drift." Zone B took over the downtown core and had the motif "Bodies and Buildings." Zone C encompassed the east end of the city and had a theme "Once More With Feeling;" installations in that area touched on repetition and memory.
Finally, City Hall and Nathan Phillips Square became the so-called Museum for the End of the World. The museum's installations included “Museum of the Rapture,” which was a collection of live tableaux of disaster scenes. Another installation called “Postcards from the End” had visitors posing in front of apocalyptic sets for a gruesome souvenir photo.
Major sponsors were assigned to a zone and worked with artists to create an installation in that space. Chevrolet took over Bay Street from Adelaide to King in zone A with an installation called “Fun House.” A branded area displayed the Chevrolet Spark and had a carnival-inspired setting complete with fun-house mirrors, popcorn, cotton candy, and a dance party. After waiting in line, guests got to drive through the temporary carnival—which had creepy overtures in keeping with the evening's theme—in a new Chevrolet.
Sponsors could also support individual projects instead of entire zones. Porter Airlines joined Nuit Blanche this year and supported “Skylum,” a floating zeppelin with a light display that responded to visitors’ movements below.
Now in its seventh year, Nuit Blanche has become an important Toronto event, with an estimated economic impact of $37.2 million for the city last year. Although annual complaints include big crowds and long lines—some of which had people waiting for more than two hours to experience an installation—those grieved-about factors attest to the festival's popularity.
![Nuit Blanche turned City Hall into the Museum of the End of the World. Christine Davis' video installation 'World Without Sun' was projected onto six circular screens outside. A second video, 'Once Upon a Time' from artist Tania Mouraud, was projected on to the east tower of City Hall.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0015_0158.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Visitors flocked to Dundas Square for 'Reflexion,' Scotiabank's sponsored installation. Videos, colours, and live shots of the crowd served as the dynamic visuals projected onto the angular sculpture.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0004_0113.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Crowds gathered to watch 'World Without Sun,' which was comprised of eerie video clips showing everything from jellyfish to explosions. The film was projected in Nathan Phillips Square.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0022_0219.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Visitors lay on the floor of City Hall to watch 'Civilization (Megaplex).' Projected on to the curved pillar of the rotunda, images funneled down and disappeared. The video began in 'hell' and panned up to 'heaven.'](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/brambillia.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![In the parking garage of City Hall, light and sound installation 'Quasar 2.0: Star Incubator' changed with information collected from live data streams that included oceanic temperature and weather.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/quasar.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![An installation dubbed 'Flat Space' created an optical illusion in zone B, outside of City Hall.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0011_0141.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Two functioning streetlights seemed to droop to the ground in the installation 'The Way Things Are' in zone B.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0064_0536.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
!['All Night Convenience' in zone B was one of the most popular installations of the evening. At one point, visitors waited for more than two hours to peruse the fake grocery store, filled with glowing lanterns that looked like products. Visitors could take a lantern as a souvenir, so as the night went on, the store became darker.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0058_0487.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![At 'Re-', performers solved a Rubik's cube over and over inside a Harry Rosen display case. Microphones attached to their sleeves amplified the sounds of the shifting cube, and the audience outside cheered them on.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0049_0394.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Food trucks took advantage of the event, lining designated streets downtown.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0047_0373.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Sponsor Chevrolet showed off the new Spark car with an installation dubbed 'Fun House.' Visitors lined up to take a ride in the vehicle through the creepy, carnival-inspired activation.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0046_0359.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
!['Fun House' took over Bay Street from Adelaide to King in zone A. The installation was filled with performers, and onlookers watched from the sidewalk.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0044_0350.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![In addition to the drive-though carnival, Chevrolet created an environment for spectators, complete with cotton candy, popcorn, and fun-house mirrors.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0036_0313.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![A dance party filled one area of the street with a motion-activated illuminated dance floor.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0038_0328.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Porter Airlines supported Nuit Blanche for the first time this year. In addition to offering discounted flights into Toronto, the company supported installation 'Skylum' in zone A. A zeppelin and light installation responded to the movements of the crowd below.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/skylum.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![For the 'Outsiders' installation, illuminated human forms were found throughout Toronto with a sign saying, 'If you find me, take me with you, take a photo, pass me on,' and an invitation to post photos to Twitter or Facebook.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/0014_0148.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
!['Planes' in zone C had dancers performing against a vertical video wall.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/planes.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
![Independent project 'Top Down' in zone C created an artificial topography of the city's building heights.](https://img.bizbash.com/files/base/bizbash/bzb/image/2012/10/brdg.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)