La Nuit Blanche

Literally meaning "The White Night", La Nuit Blanche is an annual dusk till dawn festival that happens annually in various cities worldwide. For one night, museums and galleries open all night, and spaces around the city become a platform for all kinds of art.

In Paris, La Nuit Blanche happens between 7am and 7pm on the first Saturday in October, and I was lucky enough for this cultural calendar highlight to coincide with my first weekend in Paris, on the 5^th October.

With an estimated 2 million other people, I took to the streets of Paris, with the other language assistants in Boulogne, on what was very fortunately a mild night.

A definite highlight was the street performers in front of Notre Dame.  There were roller-dancers, fire-dancers, and break-dancers, who invited a tiny girl in pink from the 500-strong audience up to perform Gangnam Style with them – and she overshadowed the dancers with her moves!

Fire Dancing in front of Notre Dame

The night also had its stranger elements. Coming out of the metro station in Place de la Republique, we found ourselves absorbed by thick fog. There was no fire, it had not become dramatically cold and misty; this was an art instillation by Japanese artist Nakayam called Fog Square. Wandering through it had a disorienting effect, even more so when the firecrackers unexpectedly exploded at our feet, and left us very damp for the rest of the night. 

Fog Square

Stranger still, Place de la Bataille de Stalingrad housed a participatory sculpture entitled « The Model in Paris », by Palle Nielsen. Essentially a giant temporary playground, revellers partake in the piece by entering the enclosed space, jumping around and throwing giant foam shapes at one another. Watching adults get involved in this at 2am felt very peculiar.

"The Model in Paris"