Itinerary 4

Dark sky. Cruchy snow. Bright lights. Cars. People. Dogs on leashes. Oh! The city nightlife…or, more like, the wintery, freezing, ‘my glasses keep fogging up’ city nightlife. Walking from one place to another, accompanied by two friends, I can’t feel my thighs. I ask myself, “Why did I wear these pants? Why did I wear this jacket? Where is my other hat?” Despite the cold, my inner self is embodied in warmth, joy and excitement. I am dwelling in so much love. I love museums. I am discovering. I am feeling. I am laughing. I am smiling. And most importantly, I am connecting within and beyond myself and my surroundings. I immerse myself in the sounds, lights, and smiles I encounter during Nuit Blanche.

On the 25th of February, I visited two Montreal museums: The Canadian Center for Architecture, located in Shaughnessy Village, as well as the Pointe-a-Calliere museum, located in the Old Port. In my reflection, accompanied by pictures I took, I share my experience and expressions of being in spaces filled with people, music, laughter, paintings, videos, colourful walls, inanimate objects, voices, and silence. Precisely, I focus on the embodiment of light, space and sound; and, how their interconnectedness creates the sense of togetherness.

The Canadian Center for Architecture: Bright and Dark Spaces

The festival's theme was ‘Anti-Gentrification.’ During my visit, I was captivated by the colourful, spatial arrangements and lighting in individual spaces. These different spaces merged into each other and created one whole atmosphere. As a painter, I was drawn to colourful walls. I was in awe when I looked at the gradient of pink and orange. Staring at its interconnectedness, I wish I had my paintbrushes to express my emotions. Although the space was bright, I felt warm and safe, as if I was in a space with softer light. A soothing ambiance.

I entered another space. Across the floor, there was an art piece: a long, dark, yet radiant blue river made of waterproof textured material. A few rocks were placed on top of it, which completed the recreation of a river. I observed many people walk over it. However, for some reason, I did not let myself do so. I kept jumping over it every time I passed by it. Is it because I do not know how to swim? Or is it because I was in a museum and usually you are not allowed to touch anything?

Although there were many different spaces with different meaningful oeuvres, I was drawn into the darkest one. Upon entering, I could not stop staring at the hanging fabric resembling a shower curtain. It was glowing. The dark room made the piece look more vibrant. The loosely hanging see-through fabric was flowing as people were walking beside it.

Overall, I was captivated by the brightness and darkness of different spaces. No doors were blocking these spaces. The atmosphere, and its emotional energies, were created through open space. The various aesthetic spaces were separated by intangible, visible borders: lighting.

Pointe-a-Calliere: Music & Togetherness

Compared to the first museum I visited on this foray, the energy in Pointe-a-Calliere was loud and interactive. The most diverting show was three guys singing and dancing. Their presence created a thunderous atmosphere. Unfortunately, there were so many people, and the space was so loud that I did not hear the host presenting their names and the culture they represented.

Full of energy. Loud music. Powerful bodily movements: jumps, flips and hand-balances. The three performers danced individually and together. They filled the empty space with not only bodily movements but also noise. Although there was drum music in the background, they encouraged everyone to clap their hands. Through the act of clapping, an atmosphere of joy, one embodied with togetherness, was created. At this moment, dozens of strangers become one. A unison was created through sound made by our bodies.

After this particular show, my friend and I went to the second floor to visit the Favourites! Our Collections on Display exhibition. It was an interactive space with different Montreal artifacts collected throughout the last 30 years. My friend and I walked through the exhibition, but not many objects caught our attention. We were getting tired from walking so much. We found four empty chairs alongside a wall and sat there. We noticed a piano in front of us but did not think much of it. We told each other we would sit here until we had the energy to walk on. People were walking past us as they continued to wander around the space and observe their surroundings.

All of a sudden, the space is captivated by music. A girl had started playing the piano, and I stopped hearing voices. More people gathered around the space, and no one said a word. Profound silence and deep listening. Awestruck chills all over my cold, tired body.

A few minutes later, a guy sat down and played the piano. The people moving around the space stopped to listen. The person seemed to be so immersed in his own music-making that he did not realize that many people were watching him. When he realized this, he startlingly turned his head and smiled at us. He continued to play.

I entered another universe while listening to these two individuals play the piano.  I felt my soul and my heart. Music, for me, is the sound of God. I was immersed in a loving space as I was captivated by the serenity of the sounds.

In this space, the collective silence created by people listening to music was loud. One piano created a new atmosphere every time someone touched it. A sense of togetherness was felt through a musical atmosphere.

Last Thoughts

My Nuit Blanche experience was exciting, calming, cold, warm, loud and silent. I was immersed in different socio-spatial environments that embodied different emotions, moods and vibes. The most heartfelt experience, in which I encountered my soul, is the atmosphere that people created by playing the piano.