Holding Ground

Holding Ground: Nuit Blanche and Other Ruptures investigates international methodologies in curatorial practice from Canada, France, England, Aotearoa New Zealand, the United States, and many more countries. It unearths the connections and historical moments that draw public exhibitions and public art together and the differences that set them apart. This book is grounded in ongoing international exchanges and draws on the breadth of artistic and curatorial work in the field. This volume brings forward as many voices as possible to reflect on their experiences with Nuit Blanche and public art, creating a diversity of perspectives on this evolving event/festival/exhibition/happening. While the aim is to present the history of Nuit Blanche through the lens of its different urban incarnations, the volume also seeks to capture its decolonial and BIPOC energies alongside its more radical and utopian aspirations. This collection of essays, therefore, emphasizes the political changes that are reflected in the curatorial programming of recent Nuit Blanche exhibitions, with a new generation of curators and artists who have created ruptures and disruptions by proposing new models of public art with engagements that simultaneously question, decentre, and expand experiences of the city.