TORONTO, Ont. – Thousands of people were treated to a free show as the streets of Toronto were turned into a contemporary art exhibit Saturday night, as Scotiabank’s Nuit Blanche returned to the city.


For one busy night artists from across the world displayed their work in various public locations across the city.

The completely free event featured an estimated 58 temporary public-art projects by local, national and international artists, commissioned by the City of Toronto.

It also featured another estimated 100 projects by Toronto artists, cultural and educational institutions, museums, galleries and neighbourhoods.

CityNews reporter Peter Kim took in all the action and told 680News about one of his favourite exhibits.

“As we walked down Bay Street we noticed a line almost stretched across two blocks,” Kim said. “It was a line-up of people waiting to get into a really cool convenience store that kind of illuminates and glows in the dark.”

“There were these little lanterns that you could take with you, they kind of glow in the dark and they were like a little memento for the night, and that was very popular.”

Much of the contemporary artwork was what is considered “multi-sensory,” meaning there were both sights and sounds to be seen, with people even able to take part in some of the displays.

Because the event ran from sunset to sunrise, the TTC extended service and ran all-night subway service on several lines. GO Transit also ran extended service on several of its lines.

Originating in Paris in 2002, Toronto was the first major North American city to replicate the event, when it first took place in 2006.