"To amaze, worry, amuse and confuse the public..." It is with this formula that Kitty Hartl describes the roadmap she followed to concoct the 2023 edition of the Nuit blanche, of which she is responsible, for the second year in a row, the artistic direction. This event will take place between June 3 and 4, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
A change in the calendar which should ensure increased attendance at the nearly 200 free shows that will be offered in the public space on this occasion. Previous editions that took place in October did not always benefit from good weather.
Invited to honor the Seine, the artists will offer interventions of any format and for all ages. A large number of them will have the river as their setting. In Alfortville, the Ilotopie company will offer a lyrical show inspired by a tale by the Brothers Grimm: The Pied Piper of Hamelin where a musician and two actors embarked on frail skiffs will drift at the foot of the Chinagora pier while ghostly silhouettes , nicely lit, will appear at the water's edge, evoking the characters of this great classic of children's literature.
Clélia Barbut and Charlotte Hubert will take you on board for a festive cruise departing from Juvisy. On board their barge, spectators will attend a succession of performances but also screenings summoning their dreamlike universe. In Bobigny, the visual artist Malte Martin will offer a poetic crossing on dry land, inviting the public to explore, at nightfall, a route over which poems will be recited while the facades of the buildings will serve as a screen for projections of drawings and texts on a melodic background.
In the 11th arrondissement, still on the quays, the Italian singer Mauro Gioia and Kitty Hartl will offer an unclassifiable show in the company of choristers from the Paris Opera and students from the Charles-Munch municipal conservatory. On the Bassin de l'Arsenal and the canals of eastern Paris, Chinese dragon boats and Venetian gondolas will broadcast various songs to invite passers-by to dance.
Neighborhoods far from the Seine will not be deprived of entertainment. A video installation by Maïder Fortuné will surprise passers-by in the Henri-IV tunnel (Paris 12th). Since, in the dark, will appear as a unicorn hologram. In front of the town hall, Mira Shapur will invite children to dress up as wild animals by donning the paper costumes designed in the 1960s by her father, the famous designer Fredun.
We will come across colorful yetis and hopping Chinese dragons here and there. A futuristic installation of Jesus Baptista planted in the middle of the courtyard of the Cognacq-Jay museum will even take us to the planet "K2-18 B", the only one on which traces of water likely to make it habitable. Please note: many museums (starting with the Pompidou Center and the Bourse du Commerce) will remain open for part of the night. And several stadiums and gymnasiums will be invaded by troops.
