Photo Credit: The Edisons

* Special NuitBlanche Event | October 1 | 7pm-2am *

An immersive & multidisciplinary exhibit illustrating stories from the cacao forest in Venezuela, also known as Conuco. Against a backdrop of political upheaval, the work explores the living and lost memory of Venezuela’s cacao cultivation while exhibiting the vibrancy of the region’s coastal rhythms and its vast landscapes.

Designers Alexandra Gelis and Alejandra Higuera draw hypnotic sounds of the Venezuelan Quitiplas into our urban experience. This Afro-indigenous percussion instrument made of bamboo sticks carry laments and conversations inside the humid and colourful cacao farms in the coastal towns of Tapipa, Cata and Rio Caribe. The work, led by Victoria Mata, invites an intimate connection to the hands, voices and songs of cacao farmers, elders, knowledge keepers and masters that have accompanied the artistic process of this creative team for the past twelve years

TO Live invites curious audiences into Meridian Arts Centre. Visitors will have a chance to experience Timea Wharton-Suri’s “The Nexus Cabaret,” an immersive live contemporary cross-cultural cabaret featuring Naishi Wang, Jaz Fairy J, Shannon Litzenberger, Right Path World Arts, and JAYU’s youth artists. Also on view at the venue will be Victoria Mata’s beautiful “Machete,” an excerpt installation from “Cacao | A Venezuelan Lament,” Santee Smith’s powerful film “Kakwitè:ne nikahá:wi: A Call & Response to Spring;” and more.

Nuit Blanche, Toronto’s all-night celebration of contemporary art, returns this fall for its 16th edition. Led by artistic director Dr. Julie Nagam, the long-awaited event will feature works by more than 100 artists and marks the finale of ArtworxTO: Toronto’s Year of Public Art.

This year’s theme is “The Space Between Us,” focusing on the connections across urban, polar, and pacific landscapes to reveal the space between us as a potential site for sharing knowledges. We’re planning some exciting artwork around this theme to share with you at Meridian Arts Centre!

About Nuit Blanche: https://www.toronto.ca/explore-enjoy/festivals-events/nuitblanche/

About TO Live: www.tolive.com

About Cacao | A Venezuelan Lament: www.cacaolament.ca

link to 2017 installation: : https://vimeo.com/252869142