Nuit Blanche...

Every year Toronto holds an all night art festival called Nuit Blanche. The idea was borrowed from similar festivals in cities like St. Petersburg and Berlin. For one night the city tries to transform itself into a free art gallery, filled with commissioned and non-commissioned art installations and performances. In theory this is a wonderful way for a city to embrace its artistic side and promote the arts. In reality, it's a mess.

Flocks of Torontonians gather in the core of the city to view these spectacles and by eleven o'clock the would-be intellectual event transforms into a parade of drunken patrons roaming the closed streets. Much of the emphasis isn't even placed on the installations themselves, but more on the idea of nuit blanche. Flags at all intersections remind the hoards of the purpose of the event but it's easier to locate the many sponsor booths than the actual exhibitions.

Without a proper plan, Nuit Blanche can be tiring and confusing. There are hundreds of things to see, and all though you are armed with a map you can never be really sure of the quality of the next exhibit you're marching towards.

The award for the most self indulgent piece has to go to the live feed of SMS messages and tweets that were displayed on the side of a building.

So Nuit Blanche, you know what your problem is?

• Ego - stop acting like this is a cultural revolution and be more informative about the exhibits!
• Timing - October? Why not August? A summer date would increase the enjoyment of this event
• Yonge St. - Yonge St. is the main artery of Nuit Blanche pumping crowds from one installation to the next, so why not spruce up Yonge with some art.
• Crowds - I don't have a solution for this but navigating through the hoards and hoards of people really takes the pleasure out of the night. Perhaps the exhibits should be spread out a little more to dillute the traffic, particularly around Yonge and Queen.

 All in all, see you next year.