Nuit Blanche (All-Nighters) 2023

Nuit Blanche returns in early June for its 22nd edition! The event - which used to take place on the first Saturday of October - will be held on 3 June 2023.

Once again, the streets and monuments of Paris will be filled with contemporary art from dusk to dawn for the Nuit Blanche. This major event in the cultural life of the capital invites Parisians and tourists to engage with works by national and international artists as they stroll around the city. Sculptures, projections, concerts, and temporary installations are scattered around the city and the Greater Paris metropolis with 200 art projects including Résonances Géométriques, which takes place simultaneously in Paris, Rouen et Le Havre, to emphasize the Seine which links all three cities. A great way to spend a memorable 'white' night!

For this new spring edition of Nuit Blanche, the square in front of Paris City Hall comes to life with a colourful, participatory offering from artistic director Kitty Hartl. From 7pm, hybrid creatures will appear on the square for the Dance of the Lions, an acrobatic performance by dancers in lion costumes, and the Pop Yetis - eccentric characters on rollerblades covered in brightly coloured ribbons. To celebrate Nuit Blanche with the family, Playsack, children’s costumes inspired by 12 animals, by the designer Fredun Shapur, are reproduced and given to children aged 6 to 10 yrs. Two brass bands, one with brass instruments and electro rhythms, and the other with electric guitars and percussion, will be playing on the banks of the Seine from 9pm.

Emblematic projects itinerary

This year, emblematic projects will be positioned along the Seine. Opera River, and Street Opera, by Kitty Hartl and Mauro Gioia, play opera arias from gramophones placed on gondolas, sailing on the Arsenal basin, or sung by a soprano walking between the Ile de la Cité and Ile Saint-Louis. On the Seine quaysides, in the tunnel Henry IV, a unicorn mysteriously appears on a video with a black background, created by the artist Maïder Fortuné. At the tip of the Ile Saint-Louis, Sunset in Paris, a floating installation by Ludmila Rodrigues and Mike Rijnierse, recreates a sunset, to admire from 10pm, like the light installation by Javier Riera, Résonances Géométriques in the Square Vert-Galant, at the tip of the Ile de la Cité. At the Palais Galliera, the choreographed performance Shrink 01995, by Lawrence Malstaf, for a ‘weightless’ ballet. Dance is also the focus at the Petit Palais with a performance by the choreographer Rana Gorgani, Danse Soufie, in a continuous hypnotic whirl.

North itinerary

At the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, discover the immersive nocturnal installation by the collective Lao titled Le Trapèze des âmes, a dreamlike immersion into the world of plants using laser projection and sound systems. On the park railings and in the hall of the town hall in the 19th arrondissement, the photographer Marie Lemoigne explores femininity with her series of photos De l’autre côté du miroir, landscapes created by imprints of the body. Also to see, the mirror cube Back Home by the artist Sandra Matamoros, with light and sound, at the church of Saint-Ambroise.

Centre itinerary

On the Seine quaysides, a monumental octopus by the street artist Kraken covers the façade of the art centre Fluctuart. Near to the Musée d’Orsay, a huge golden ring hovers above the Seine for the project RINGdeLUXE. The exploration of the Seine continues with the Académie du Climat via the positive energy sculpture Les Dessous de la Seine by Juliette Somnolet, inspired by seaweed and subaquatic flora. Parades and performances energize the Centre Pompidou with a participatory collage on the paving stones by Aristide Barraud, before a dreamlike immersion into the « chill room » From my Vibrant Skin, to My Sighing Heart by Camille Juthier.

South itinerary

Cinema fans can gaze at the images of film maker Georges Méliès projected onto the façade of the Cinémathèque. A photo project is also on show at the brand-new Quai de la photo, with a performance in levitation Art in Movement by the artist Forgetmat to journey into a poetical world. At Saint-Michel, the experience Les Voiles de Véronique by the artist Lydie Arickx covers the church of Saint-Séverin with flowing veils decorated with natural pigments and vegetable charcoal. A mystic exploration at the Musée Guimet, with Devakator - a video by Melody Lu on a dreamlike journey inspired by Père-Lachaise, the Catacombs and the Flame of Liberty. A journey involving Aboriginal culture awaits you at the Musée du Quai Branly with a video installation by the artist Vernon Ah Kee, Gudirr Gudirr - a cry in the form of a warning by the bird Guwayi.

Greater Paris Metropolis itinerary

The Greater Paris metropolis offers some 90 or so cultural projects to explore that also feature the Seine. At Alfortville, the project DéRives takes the public on a performance on the Seine, like a luminous ballet with a theatre of transparent silhouettes. At Juvisy-sur-Orge, the artistic cruise The Love Boat offers participants a 3hr trip on the Seine, with performances, projections, and installations. Also to see: the participatory performance SUPERPO by the designer Martin Malte in Bobigny for a visual journey through words, as well as the multidisciplinary trail of sculptures, sound and olfactory installations and works at the Hangar Y in Meudon.

Cultural Olympiad selection

A selection of « Cultural Olympiad » projects feature along the itinerary with notably, a show mixing Mexican catch and burlesque dancing with the Lucha VaVoom, Place du Châtelet, a huge table tennis tournament in a kitsch atmosphere with The Art of PingPongCountry, on the Quai d’Austerlitz or an exhibition of art posters for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, on the banks of the Seine, on Quai de la Mégisserie to put the spotlight on the values of sport and the Olympic Games through art and creation.