Nuit Blanche: The power of connection in the city

Opinion

Last Saturday night, downtown Winnipeg came alive. Nuit Blanche returned, drawing an estimated 35,000 people and with them a surge of light, sound, and creativity. For one night, art spilled out of galleries and studios into the streets, parks, and storefronts of the Exchange District and beyond. Projections animated century-old façades, music and dance filled public squares and alleyways, sculptures and installations glowed in the dark, and tens of thousands of people roamed the city with curiosity.

Walking through the Exchange with friends, the most compelling part of the evening for me was not a single artwork or performance. It was the experience of being together — shoulder to shoulder with thousands of Winnipeggers, walking through familiar and unfamiliar streets, sharing in something larger than ourselves. The art was good, yes, but what made the night truly electric was the connection it fostered. Still, I did find myself missing one or two of those over-the-top, unforgettable Nuit Blanche Toronto art installations (and double the number of trash bins) — maybe next year, if we can find the funds and the curators.

There was a buzz to the evening. You could feel it as you turned a corner and stumbled upon an installation or dancers, or as you paused on a side street to listen to live music. It wasn’t only about what you saw; it was about the energy of the crowd around you. Strangers became fellow travelers for the night, linked by a shared sense of wonder. Even bumping into someone wasn’t a bad thing. People smiled.

On Nuit Blanche, the city itself became the stage. The historic buildings of the East and West Exchange shone in the glow of light projections and illuminations, brighter even than some of the contemporary infills. The stone edifices stood taller and more beautiful in the night. Trees and riverbanks were cast in unusual colours. Parks became gathering places. Side streets and alleys, often overlooked or avoided, were transformed into safe, vibrant corridors of discovery. The built fabric of Winnipeg — its architecture, public spaces, and natural canopy — was part of the show.

And through it all, there was comfort (and fun) in numbers. I didn’t see a single police officer, paramedic, or security guard, though I know they were nearby. Instead, it was the people themselves who created the sense of safety. On this night, the crowd became the city’s eyes on the street. We looked out for each other simply by being there, filling the sidewalks, keeping the atmosphere lively but respectful. It was civic life in its most authentic form — people supporting people, community reinforcing itself. From just a few long glances, it was clear that every neighbourhood, age group, community, and demographic was represented.

That is the power of connection when the setting and the props are in place: art, buildings, streets, trees, and people. When creativity is given space in public life, the city becomes more than infrastructure; it becomes a network of relationships. The art mattered, but so did the conversations, the laughter, the sense of belonging.

What makes Nuit Blanche particularly special is its accessibility. It is free, open, and welcoming to all. Families with strollers, students on bicycles, elders walking arm in arm — everyone could participate. The barriers that sometimes surround art in traditional institutions fell away. This was cultural democracy in action: art not as an elite pastime, but as a civic right, shared equally in the public square. No wondering what’s behind the door. Not one admission ticket required.

And yet, one can’t help but ask: why only one night? If 12 hours of art and connection can transform the city, imagine what 12 months could do. What if Winnipeg’s sidewalks, bus stops, streetscapes, libraries, community centres, schools or places of worship hosted regular and free performances, pop-ups, murals, or projections? What if art was not an occasional spectacle, but a constant presence woven into daily life?

The truth is that people crave these experiences. Across North America, museums and galleries welcome more visitors than professional sporting events and theme parks combined (that’s a well-established fact!). In an age of digital saturation, people still seek out the in-person experience of art — of standing before it, of being changed by it, of sharing it with others. Nuit Blanche is proof of that hunger, magnified at a civic scale.

For one night, Winnipeg felt brighter, safer, more open, more alive. The challenge is to carry that spirit into the other 364 days of the year or maybe 52 days or even 12 days – reaching beyond First Fridays. Our city deserves to feel connected not only on festival nights but every day — through public art, accessible cultural programming, and shared spaces that invite gathering and exchange.

Nuit Blanche is a reminder of what is possible when art, people, and place converge. It reveals that connection is the true civic art: connection to the streets we walk, to the buildings that hold our history, to the rivers and parks that ground us, and most of all, to each other.

Art illuminates more than walls; it illuminates us. It transforms strangers into neighbours and the city into a shared home. Nuit Blanche gave us a glimpse of that reality — and challenged us to imagine a Winnipeg where such light is not confined to a single night, but part of everyday life.

Stephen Borys is president and CEO of Civic Muse, and a former director and CEO of the Winnipeg Art Gallery.