Toronto’s Nuit Blanche has garnered millions of dollars in revenue since it started in 2006, according to the event’s official website
GRAPHIC BY SARAH MACDONALD
Complied by Sarah MacDonald
Art will come to life once again this Saturday night drawing in crowds on Toronto’s streets.
Nuit Blanche, the annual contemporary art show in its seventh year, will take over the downtown core with innovative art displays in three different zones, according to its site.
The nighttime event has also gained millions of dollars in revenue for the city with some spillover that has benefited the province, according to the Nuit Blanche official website.
Beginning in 2006, the event gained in popularity over the years with displays increasing from 87 in the first year to an expected 150 this weekend.
The first year saw revenue of $1 million, which increased to $4.9 million in 2007 when the amount of tourists and local attendees doubled.
In 2008, a revenue spillover of $7.6 million also benefitted the province, that number increasing in every following year, according to its site.
The event runs all night but not many restaurants or businesses will stay open to accommodate the influx of visitors to the city.
Famed Canadian author Douglas Coupland will surely bring in more visitors this year at his apocalyptic themed installation Museum of the Rapture.
Coupland’s display, located in the underground parking garage of Toronto’s City Hall, according to both the Nuit Blanche website and Toronto Life, will take visitors through a maze with living tableaux to explore the idea of The Rapture.
Nuit Blanche will run from sunset—approximately 7:03 p.m.— to sunrise on the morning of Sunday, Sept 30.