One of the city’s most anticipated yearly events is Nuit Blanche, an all-night celebration of art and culture spread out across the downtown area, North York, and Etobicoke. Running from 7 p.m. on October 4 to 7 a.m. on October 5, this free, city-wide event allows people to venture into immersive exhibitions, see Toronto’s landmarks adorned with visual art, and participate in activities made to highlight the unique voices that shape Ontario’s capital.
More than 85 works made by local and international creatives will be featured at the 2025 Nuit Blanche, including light installations, contemporary dance, and live music.
Following the theme Translating the City, this year’s artwork will explore the GTA’s complexities and the roles that each of us play in making the city what it is. It also invites attendees to ponder the possibilities of what the city could be if we worked together to build a better future.
If you aren’t sure where to go for Nuit Blanche this Saturday, we’ve got you covered with installations, exhibits, and participatory performances to check out.
Photo by M+ Lok Cheng
Eye of Wisdom
A love letter to Toronto, Ellen Pau’s Eye of Wisdom will bring light, gesture, and language to the downtown core. This monumental installation uses light to project messages into the form of the Heart Sūtra, a popular Buddhist text, and it is dedicated to immigrant communities in the city’s Chinatown. Pau is a renowned figure in experimental media and this is the first time that her work is exhibited in Toronto. According to Charlene K. Lau, the curator of Poetic Justice Zone at Nuit Blanche, Eye of Wisdom speaks to the power of art in bridging the gap between language, culture, and memory.
Where: Toronto’s West City Hall
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DARKFIELD Experiences
After taking the UK by storm with its immersive audio experiences, DARKFIELD will present two installations at Nuit Blanche called SÉANCE and FLIGHT. Both are part of the Art Month programming at STACKT Market, and they are set inside dark shipping containers where participants embark on multi-sensorial journeys. SÉANCE features a chilling encounter at the séance table where suggestion blurs with reality. FLIGHT, on the other hand, features a disorienting airplane ride through parallel universes, making you question what is and isn’t real.
Where: STACKT Market
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Letters to Your Ex
Cai is a Toronto-based artist and creator, known for helping people navigate heartbreak through his storytelling platform WhyWithCai. Inspired by his book of the same name, Letter to My Ex will feature immersive flower installations, a “What Would You Tell Your Ex” sharing wall, letter-writing stations, and other activities that spark connection and healing.
Where: Waterworks Food Hall
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Back-to-Back at the MAC
At Back-to-Back at the MAC, everyone is welcome to step onto the stage for five minutes, sharing their talents with a crowd. There will be six artists who will have presentations throughout the night, but the public is welcome to participate in between their performances. The confirmed artists for this lively open mic are Aisha Nicholson, Cultureland, Vicky, Veronica Antipolo, Patrick de Belen, and Rashmi Mishra. Patrick Walters will host the event, which will run from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Where: Studio Theatre at the Meridian Arts Centre
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Voices of the City
The theme for this year’s edition of Nuit Blanche is Translating the City, One Voice At a Time and the Aga Khan Museum will showcase various art forms that embody this motto. Visual art, live music, poetry, dance, and more will take over the museum and its surroundings, giving attendees an opportunity to take in an all-night celebration of urban stories and sacred traditions. Journey through the many voices that shape our city with outdoor performances and free access to the art gallery until 2 a.m.
Where: Aga Khan Museum
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Echoes of Identity
Daria Beer’s exhibition, Echoes of Identity, features stunning collage artwork to explore memory, identity, and women’s resilience. Beer celebrates diverse voices by weaving together personal and found images with embroidery floss, symbolizing her family’s migration. In addition to the exhibition, there will be live music by Loofka, a Toronto-based sound collective that takes audiences on immersive, eclectic journeys through emotions, sensations, and space.
Where: Assembly Hall
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The 52: Stories of Women Who Transformed Toronto
Believe it or not, women make up 52 per cent of Toronto’s population. Inspired by this statistic, the Museum of Toronto is using Nuit Blanche as an opportunity to bring the life stories of 52 women who helped shape the city in the 1800s. This powerful exhibition features both well-known figures and people whose contributions often went unnoticed. Through films, photographs, letters, and other personal objects, each of these women’s lives and lasting impact shines through. The 52 also includes creative monologues from 24 award-winning Canadian playwrights and performed by 52 actors, giving the exhibition another layer of depth.
Where: Museum of Toronto
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Wishing Well: Alphabet Soup
Pop performance duo xLq are back at Nuit Blanche for the second year in a row, and they are putting on a queer, witchy dance party inside an installation of letters. Buddies will have its ceilings and walls covered in letters, and those in attendance can play with them, forming words or scrambling them all the while DJs play an electric set. Everyone is welcome to gather, have a good time, and connect.
Where: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
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Disappearing Acts
Disappearing Acts allows for people to step into a powerful video and dance party that captures the ambiance from Toronto’s once-thriving gay and lesbian bars. These places weren’t just about the nightlife, but rather sanctuaries for connection, resilience, and culture in the city. Disappearing Acts not only reminds people of the atmosphere those bars provided, but also invites attendees to reflect on the AIDS crisis, gentrification, and the rise of social media.
Where: Sankofa Square
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Protect the Sacred Voice
If you are at Nathan Phillips Square, make sure to check out a project by Demian DinéYazhi’, a Diné artist currently based in the U.S. His latest foray into art includes filling the area with posters bearing emblematic statements reflecting on the realities of creating as a marginalized artist, including “English is a foreign language” or “Nurture Resistance! Love Revolution!” Different from some of the other exhibits featured on this guide, DinéYazhi’s work will be on for more than just a single night. It will be up at the downtown hot spot until October 13.
Where: City Hall
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100% City
German theatre group Rimini Protokoll will finally present their show, 100% City, as part of Nuit Blanche 2025’s programming. Different from its previous performances, Rimini Protokoll have reimagined their production for the contemporary art festival, converting it into a participatory installation. Audiences in attendance can interact with the presentation by answering questions through a voting system. The questions asked throughout 100% City will allow for those watching it to be part of a greater conversation about how Toronto sets itself apart from other major global cities.
Where: North York Civic Centre, Council Chamber
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The Sound of Lions in Chinatown
Also featured in the Poetic Justice sector of Nuit Blanche, The Sounds of Lions in Chinatown is Annie Wong and Hannia Cheng’s biggest work of art yet. The piece is a large-scale photograph of community activist Jean Lumb, whose voice was prominent in the 1950s when Toronto’s first Chinatown was expropriated to build City Hall. The Sounds of Lions in Chinatown reimagines the use of the traditional paifang (or village gates) to invite audiences to go on a journey that inspects the neighbourhood’s history and continued fight against displacement.
Where: 484 Dundas St. W (West Gate)
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