Nuit Blanche

Counting down to Nuit Blanche. Nuit Blanche is an exciting "cultural all-nighter" presenting contemporary art events from dusk to dawn. It enlivens cities all round the world such as Paris, Berlin and Toronto, and 2010 is the debut for Reading. This first year will be a small but magical series of indoor and outdoor events on the night of 15/16 October. The Nuit Blanche Reading website will list the program organised by partners OpenHand OpenSpace, jelly, Whitley Arts Festival, Rising Sun Arts Centre and arjeea21, with activities in the Town Centre, Whitley, and the Keep on Oxford Road supported by Reading UK CIC and Reading Borough Council. New events will be added as people join in, so keep checking back to www.nuitblanchereading.org.uk and prepare to become cultural night owls. A taster of the evening includes: Sunset Walk, Restoration Centre, Dawlish Road, Whitley, Friday 15th October, Meet from 5.15pm, leaving 5.40pm

 Join the sunset walk, with artist Jo Thomas from The Restoration Centre to the Water Meadows in Whitley (20 minute walk) to watch the sunset at 6.11pm. During the experience you will encounter the instruments and artifacts that artist Jo Thomas has created in the previous two months. After the sunset walk, a narrow boat will take you into Reading Town Centre where you can experience other events taking place as part of Nuit Blanche Toile de Joi, Friday 15 October 6.00 -12.00, 173 Friar Street Special creation by Mirren Kessling: "Toile de Joi" 15 Oct 6-12pm. Work will be shown there until 31 Oct. Gallery 3 is part of the Whitley Arts Festival and this year is being curated by jelly’s Open for Art Project, funded by Reading UK CIC. There will be no public access to the space. Lit Forest, Friday 15 October 6 – 10pm, Market Place, Reading The Lit Forest will be a light installation in Market Place; supported by Blachere Illumination (UK) Ltd Blachere are the provider of the town centre festive lighting displays, funded by Reading UK CIC through the Business Improvement District. Blachere is supporting a drawing activity being delivered by the jelly team where participants will be invited to create their own light design Night Photographers, The Artpad, 3rd Floor, 42 Market Place, Reading 6 – 8.30pm A special photo studio where photographer, Salvo Toscano, will be photographing 100 visitors to the Nuit Blanche event using a medium format camera and roll film. Salvo will then lead one of the artists talks around Reading at 8.50, bring your camera along and join in. Any photos taken that night can be added to the Nuit Blanche Reading flickr group. The Artpad 3rd floor, 42 Market Place Fri 15 Oct 6-12pm An evening of creativity up at jelly’s artpad, including spoken word workshops, knitters knitting night caps, sound workshops, projections, a creative space. Art walks will leave the artpad at 6.50pm, 8.50pm and 10.50pm. Pop up for an update on what’s happening and where. Please note there is limited access to the space Hereabouts Fri 15 Oct, 6.30 – 9pm, Reading Town Hall. Projections and interventions by Jo Thomas as part of her Hereabouts exhibition, WAF’s major art commission for 2010 St Marys Project
, Friday 15th October 9.00pm – 10.30pm, St Mary’s Church, Reading Town Centre
 In its second year Chris Lambert (MFZ Productions) and visual projectionist Porij re-vision the iconic St Mary’s Church and its surroundings with music and visuals that challenge and illuminate the historic building. The project is curated by Whitley Arts Festival, supported by the Open for Art Project Parcel Fever, From 6pm 15 October until 5am 16 October, Event takes place on the ground floor of the Keep, 571 Oxford Road, Tilehurst, Reading RG30 1H An art exhibition celebrating the anticipation and enjoyment of unwrapping parcels. Instead of the usual procedure where submitted work is unwrapped and installed beforehand, the whole process will be enjoyed by all. The evening/night is likely to consist of artists and visitors hanging out together, unwrapping art, setting it up, looking at it, playing with it, eating and drinking, trying to keep warm and not to go to sleep! The Dawn Chorus, Sunrise Market Place/ Forbury Gardens See in the sunrise by joining the dawn chorus. The Retreat Singers are absorbing guest singers for the Dawn Chorus @ Reading Nuit Blanche. Rehearsals at the Jelly for two weeks, culminating in a dawn chorus, 6am on Saturday 16 October