All white now: Brussels' Nuit Blanche is 10 years old

A celebration is in order. Nuit Blanche has been a significant event on Brussels’ cultural calendar for a full decade now. The all-night arts festival, organised by the City of Brussels and held like clockwork the first weekend of October, may have been inspired by Paris, but it has since established its own identity.

The inaugural edition of the Brussels event in 2003 was a sprawling, city-wide party, much like Nuit Blanche Paris. The powers-that-be now concentrate on a chosen neighbourhood, mapping a more compact circuit in which all venues are within walking distance of one another. This year’s festivities unfold southwest from the Mont des Arts to Place de la Chapelle.

Brussels-based art student Justine Van Den Driessche, whose installation Capturing the Academy is featured in this year’s programme, notes the advantages of the neighbourhood scope. “The event is more open here,” she says. “There are more possibilities of interaction with the public and so the social dimension is more developed.

Open call, much freedom

Nuit Blanche (the French phrase for “sleepless night”) has also shifted its focus over the years from partying on a massive scale to showcasing international contemporary art. The open call for projects for this 10th anniversary edition – another crucial departure from Nuit Blanche Paris, which is managed by curators – brought in pitches from around the world. More than one-quarter of the pieces that made the cut are imported from beyond Belgium’s borders.

There are few hard-and-fast criteria. You’ll find performances, projections, installations and everything in between. The artists share little more than a common appreciation of public space and its creative potential. Local character is evident in the projects sprung from collaborations with neighbourhood residents. Other pieces have interactive elements, making the spectator an active participant.

“There’s a lot of freedom,” Van Den Driessche says. “It’s a great opportunity for young artists like me who are looking for creative experiences and visibility.”

Night owls need not worry. Despite the unambiguously cultural focus, there are still plenty of parties. Nuit Blanche is hosting five non-stop soirées this year, including an electro-flavoured Boombox Party at the repurposed Magdalenazaal, former home of the Brussels Casino. Indeed, the action moves decidedly downtown after hours, with more shindigs at Beursschouwburg, Viage Casino, La Tentation and Galeries.

Free and easy

Accessibility is another cornerstone of Nuit Blanche. The neighbourhood scope of the festival encourages walking and cycling between venues. An information desk, DIY shop, Grand Restaurant featuring local dishes and organic products and two open-air bars are convenient pit stops along the festival route. Free and secure bicycle parking zones are provided. In addition, Brussels’ public transport agency STIB is offering free service and extending hours on its Noctis network until 5.00.

For the first time, Nuit Blanche provides “Image Whisperers” to visually impaired visitors. These volunteers are students recruited from Brussels’ art schools and trained to supply on-the-spot descriptions of the festival’s events. The artistic director of France’s Centre Ressources Théâtre Handicap was on hand to oversee training.

Best of all, the entire artistic programme of Nuit Blanche can be enjoyed by its estimated 100,000 annual visitors for free. Only the after-parties require tickets (online pre-sales start at €8).

October 6, from 19.00, across Brussels; www.nuitblanchebrussels.be

This article first appeared in Flanders Today