French culture has had a great year in Zagreb. Presenting itself in a number of ways trough Randez-Vous festival of French culture in Croatia, it brought closer Croatian and French artists, it enticed the local public to learn more about France in a fun and interactive way and had straightened the fruitful interaction between cultural institutions of both countries that started last year in Paris, when Croatia had presented it’s culture to french people.
Randez-Vous is coming to an end, and it’s going out with an all night celebration of both cultures on the streets of Zagreb. Nuit Blanche, or White Night is an art project started in Nantes, France by Jean Blaise in 1984 as an all night celebration of culture on the streets of the city, with different institutions opening their doors for free, artists doing interventions on the streets, performances, installations, exhibitions and all other sorts of contemporary art practices filling the center of Nantes.
Since then the concept has spread to other cities and had gained in popularity. Zagreb is having it first Nuit Blanche this year, on September 26th, as a swan song for a culturally filled year sung by contemporary artists from France and Croatia. The program is segmented into several groups that include street art, interactive installations, sound and light installations, concerts, performances and exhibitions.
There’s plenty of content here for anyone and it’s hard to highlight any specific project. From Klovicevi dvori gallery, Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU), Gradec plateau, Oktogon at Petra Preradovica square, Museum of contemporary arts (MSU), Museum of Arts and Crafts to marshal Tito square, Petrinjska street and random ad hoc spots around downtown Zagreb, artists will be pulling an all-nighter in presenting, creating and sharing their art.
The program starts on Saturday at 16h and lasts until 4h in the morning on Sunday and is free to attend. To find out more about the program and locations click here.
