Performers are arriving and the final touches of art pieces are being completed, in preperation of the third annual McEwen Nuit Blanche.
This free art festival celebrating culture, the arts, downtown Sudbury and the Laurentian University architecture program, will be hosted by the McEwen School of Architecture from 7 p.m. until 1 a.m. this evening.
While organizing partner and third-year architecture student Adrian Hutchinson says the event has no theme, its outdoor installations focus on embracing the North, embracing winter and of embracing the cold.
"The ice candles for instance, show that what we have is not something to be feared or to avoid, but something to celebrate," said Hutchinson.
For the first time since its introduction, McEwen Nuit Blanche have combined the creative pieces and performances of its students and teachers with those of other post-secondary institutions. This expansion is testament to public response, both to Nuit Blanche and the school of architecture.
"A little known fact about our school is that was ... pushed forward by downtown Sudbury," said Hutchinson.
"It wasn't actually a venture by Laurentian University to come up with an architecture program; downtown wanted to revitalize and they thought that a good way to do that would be to bring an architecture school to Northern Ontario."
The McEwen School of Architecture was designed to accomodate events, so as to build community relationships and fund facility improvements. Hutchinson says the school welcomes new suggestions for use of the space, believing that both the building and its student's grow from the diversity.
"This building is an example of how spaces that we live in can change for the better and how new ideas can be applied to both public and private spaces," said Hutchinson.
"People want to see spaces that better relate to the environment, to people, to culture, and that's what these kind of events help do."
