Ottawa has smelled the grinding coffee and hosted its own Nuit Blanche art festival and it’s about time.
But after the inaugural year’s small and quietly under-the-radar success, whispers of a nameless evil have been sprouting up all across the art community, talks of the future of the night alongside a “gulp” corporate sponsor. Organizers would doubtless be looking for one of the big banks, such as the RBC or Scotiabank, to pump cash and credit into the festival as they did in Montreal and Toronto.
But the question on many lips is, what kind of strings get attached to that kind of paycheque, especially when you’re talking about art?
Organizers may be thinking about signing on the dotted line, but I’m not.
Okay, this may make it sound more nefarious and evil than it needs to be. Sponsorship from a big-name company does have its perks and ever since that first caveman was given an extra bite of bison for his work on the walls, the arts have always needed a patron. Whether it was the church, wealthy aristocrats or jaded philanthropists, every artist has always had a daddy, so to speak.
Art for the sake of itself can exist, but when it comes to a city-wide festival of this size and influence, having a few extra coppers in your coinpurse can’t hurt. Montreal got branded by the big boys some time ago, and the night still holds a high reputation and distinction as a premier example of the power of art over regular sleeping hours and general tidiness.
But as with anything, it’s not that Ottawa is out of the loop entirely, just a few steps behind other established Canadian art powerhouses. But since we’re a few steps behind, we can actively decide whether to follow footprints or avoid those massive, gaping holes that seem to exist everywhere, but go unnoticed until someone falls in one, or a few.
Instead of sticking their hands out and getting a big Coca-Cola logo stamped on their forehead in exchange for some spare change, organizers should try getting the community more involved in the project.
Nuit Blanche translates roughly to “All-Nighter” so think of getting OCTranspo to run buses all night, or at least hourly shuttle services across the city.
Turn local businesses into galleries, bus shelters into beer gardens or whatever lets you express your inner genius, but read the fine print before you start signing contracts from mystery men in black suits.
Maybe it was small this year, but give it time, take what you’ve done, learn from it and build on it. You’re the art community for god’s sake, don’t pander to mass consumption and consumerism. Wait to stand upright before you start getting into bed with someone who might knock you over later. This is one of the few instances where I give you full license to be snooty, counter-cultural and generally dismissive of the capitalist economy. Hipsters, at your leisure.
Whatever you do, just don’t sell the soul away. Not yet at least, not until the price is right.