Bring to Light is New York’s “nuit blanche” (French for “white night” or “sleepless night”) and part of a global network of locally organized, dusk-to-dawn contemporary art festivals established in Paris in 2001 and now hosted by dozens of cities around the world. Bring to Light takes place the same night as Nuit Blanche festivals in Paris, Brussels, and Toronto that have grown to attract hundreds
of thousands of visitors—creating an annual outpouring of cultural and artistic expression. The inaugural Bring to Light festival in 2010 was attended by an estimated 10,000 New Yorkers and showcased the work of dozens of cutting-edge artists and despite inclement weather attendance grew to 15,000 in 2011. Bring to Light is a non-profit, civic event that provides a unique platform for artists to step outside of traditional exhibition spaces, exploring innovative approaches to temporary public art and expanding audiences. Whether boldly monumental or quietly engrossing, Bring to Light fosters contemplative, multi-sensory and participatory experiences in the public sphere with lasting impact. In upcoming years, Bring to Light will grow to multiple locations city-wide, seizing the untapped potential of the New York waterfront and highlighting the city’s vibrant art, music, technology and design communities for both local and international audiences.
