Biela Noc

White Night embodies the desire to (re)discover urban environment which is given a new dimension through art. A city is transformed into an interactive space whose usual nocturnal cycle ceases to exist for a few hours. Contemporary art breathes life into the city at night and the night thus becomes “white”. WN is a prestigious international art project aimed at bringing near to the general public not only contemporary art forms, but also untraditional, unknown and important spots of big European cities. WN was established in Paris in 2002 when mayor M. Bertrand Delanoë decided to make use of an unconventional art project to demonstrate the desire of the city administration to support contemporary art and international collaboration in art. In its first year, the project became the most visited art event of the year and, within a few months, spread into other cities across the globe. In 2013, Nuit Blanche in Paris was visited by over two and a half million people. From Paris, the project expanded into New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Santa Monica, Montreal, Toronto, Rome, Tel Aviv, Gaza, Jerusalem, Madrid, Brussels, Riga, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Brighton, Turin, Naples, St. Petersburg, Bratislava, Košice, among others. OUR OBJECTIVES To support and spread contemporary art forms To arouse interest of the general public in contemporary art To support the work of Slovak artists and the origination of new high-quality artistic works To attract top artists To foster tourism To encourage the development of creative industries in the city To make untraditional, unknown and important spots in the city more visible To use art to interconnect Kosice and Bratislava with other important cities in the world To educate audiences of all ages To spread word about art interpretation to children To champion volunteering and cultural mediation To support participatory art and social projects for socially or health disadvantaged groups