Open Call for Nuit Blanche Toronto Projects (Canada)

Benefits

• Open Call Projects receive:
  • Programming and Production support from the City of Toronto including, but not limited to:
    • Artistic consultation and curatorial guidance on all elements of project design, budgets and execution from the Artistic Director, curator(s) and the City of Toronto.
    • Securing access to venues as required and possible.
    • Technical consultation including assistance with City permits and other permissions (e.g. access to public space, health & safety, when possible).
    • Assistance with sourcing technical equipment where required.
    • Access to power, where possible during the event.
    • Based on your project’s unique needs, staff and volunteer support will be included in the facilitation of your project during the night of the event.

Funding Information

• These projects are funded and produced by the City of Toronto with a budget of up to $15,000.00 CAD.

Eligibility Criteria

• To apply to become an Open Call Project, you must meet all the following criteria:
  • Be a practicing visual artist or collective: in collaboration with Nuit Blanche Toronto. Artists and collectives can be based anywhere however; they cannot assist visiting artists with their travel expenses. All costs must be accounted for in the project budget. You must be willing to make the commitment required (personnel, financial and otherwise) to achieve your project.
  • Rooted in contemporary art: If your primary artistic discipline is not contemporary visual art, please contextualize and describe your practice and how the end resulting artwork would reflect the artistic discipline.
  • Respond to 2025 theme: You propose to create a site-specific project in public space, which demonstrates relevance to the ideas or questions posed by the Translating the City theme, and related City produced exhibitions. Your concept proposal and the resulting artwork must be a work of contemporary art.
  • Stay open all night: Projects MUST be open for the entire 12-hour period (from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Projects that close early do not fulfil the “all-night” mandate of the event. Please consider carefully if you can undertake this all-night commitment before submitting your application.
  • Be free: You will offer all-night access to your project that is free of charge to the public during the event, from 7 p.m. on October 5th to 7 a.m. October 6th, 2025.
  • Take place in Toronto: All projects must be located within the City of Toronto, with the exception of projects that take place virtually or connect a geographic location in Toronto with a location elsewhere in the world. It is advisable when seeking and selecting a venue or site for physical projects that you consider the neighbourhood context, resident and business communities, traffic and navigation and how your project will fit into, engage with, or activate your venue and its surroundings. If the project is virtual it must be free to access, not age restrictive and accessible to the majority of attendees i.e., not require use of uncommon technologies, platforms or personal data.
  • Be accessible: Accessibility should be considered in the design of your project. Venues limited to patrons over the age of 19 are not accessible to all audiences and will not be considered.
  • Adhere to the project budget: Your project expenses should fall within the allocated inclusive budget of no more than $15,000.00 CAD, including supplies, staffing, artistic and production-related expenses, including artist honorarium. Travel and accommodation should be considered if you are an out-of-town applicant
  • Be safe: Your project must be installed in a safe manner, and abide by all City of Toronto by-laws, laws, and safety standards, which will be assessed and evaluated in consultation with the City of Toronto staff (for example: excessive noise can be a violation, all electrical devices must meet code, measures shall be made to reduce flammability rating of textiles and other materials).

Assessment Criteria

• Projects will be assessed by the Artistic Director, curators and City of Toronto based on the following criteria:
  • Artistic merit of your project proposal and supporting material.
  • Fulfillment of the mandate of Nuit Blanche Toronto: to create a contemporary artwork in public space that engages the broadest audience through artistic excellence, which is free and presented all night long.
  • Demonstration that the project responds to the overall event theme, Translating the City and/or relates to one of the exhibition themes.
  • Strong aesthetic, conceptual elements, demonstration of artistic innovation, interpretation and integration of contemporary art in the specific context of the curatorial vision, and potential sites.
  • The creation, production and presentation history of the applicant.
  • The feasibility of the project, including a realistic budget and project delivery schedule.
  • A previously demonstrated ability, or appropriate project plan to execute a project of this scope and to work collaboratively with an existing project team including: The Artistic Director, the Curators; City of Toronto staff; project partners; venues; manufacturing, technical, and installation contractors engaged to realize a finished temporary public artwork. Not all applicants will have had this previous work experience, so please highlight any comparable experiences.
  • Durability and sustainability of the artwork, including its ability to withstand large audiences and inclement weather (rain, high winds, etc.).
  • Projects by contemporary artists, collaborations between artists and researchers or creators working in other disciplines relevant to the theme, are welcome and encouraged.
  • The accessibility of the project. AODA compliance is a must. The ability for projects to be engaged with audiences of different levels of ability, of different ages, and without reliance on certain technological tools.
  • In relation to this year’s theme, Translating the City, of particular interest are projects that incorporate translation into different languages, including ASL interpretation.

For more information, visit Nuit Blanche Toronto.