This Nuit Blanche, join MOCA Toronto for activations highlighting exhibitions by Phyllida Barlow (Ground Floor), Liz Magor (Floor 2), and The Wedge Collection (Floor 3). We’re partnering with the Toronto Biennial of Art and Pride Toronto for an evening of diverse programming related to this year’s theme, breaking ground. The evening will feature MOCA’s Fall exhibition offerings, a newly commissioned performance titled mother wheel on the Ground Floor by Katie Adams-Gossage, as well as a DJ set on Floor 5.
Floors 2 and 3 of the museum will be open to the public until 9 pm, while visitors are welcome to explore Barlow’s work Eleven Columns on the Ground Floor, as well as enjoy the museum’s exterior lightbox installation, negotiating space with memories of fluid landscapes by Isabel Okoro, for the duration of Saturday night until 7 am on Sunday morning.
During the day Saturday, you can also join MOCA at the annual Sterling Road Block Party next door at Henderson Brewery for a free, drop-in cyanotype activity!
Nuit Blanche Schedule
MOCA’s Ground Floor and exterior space will be open to the public from 7 pm–7 am for the entire duration of Nuit Blanche. Enjoy MOCA’s ground floor exhibition Eleven Columns by Phyllida Barlow, and take a peek at MOCA’s exterior lightbox installation, negotiating space with memories of fluid landscapes by Isabel Okoro.
Similarly, visitors can also join Pride Toronto on Floor 5 for Hanlan’s: Out of the Closet, an exhibition which engages 2SLGBTQI+ narratives as they intertwine with the natural world, and examines the historical importance of Hanlan’s Point Beach as an integral part of Toronto’s queer histories. The exhibition will feature archival materials, as well as a new installation work by Irene Ly.
MOCA and the Toronto Biennial of Art have partnered for this year’s Nuit Blanche, and are pleased to offer a site-specific performance by dance artist, Katie Adams-Gossage. The performance, titled mother wheel, will take place on MOCA’s Ground Floor in between Barlow’s Eleven Columns.
mother wheel is an improvised physical study, researched and performed by Katie Adams-Gossage, that occupies Phyllida Barlow’s Eleven Columns. The ephemeral nature of dance is cradled here by its setting, and morphs the apparent permanence of Barlow’s imposing work.
Visitors can also enjoy our exhibitions located on Floors 2 and 3 for free! The second floor features Liz Magor: The Separation while the third floor features The Wedge Collection: Dancing in the Light.
Join Pride Toronto on Floor 5 for a DJ set from DJ Alain, free refreshments, and live model performance art.
About the Artist
Katie Adams-Gossage (she/her) is a dance artist originally from Montreal, now collaborating, creating, performing, and leading in Toronto. She feels most at home in her personal practice: an improvisational universe that integrates contemporary techniques with introspection, composition, honesty, and exchange. She is committed to a holistic dance philosophy and consequently centres education, performance, process, relationships, and social context in equal measure.
As an interpreter, Adams-Gossage puts emotional and physical intelligence at the forefront of her contributions. Notable choreographers and presenters with whom she has worked include Toronto Dance Theatre, Pulga Muchochoma, Half Light Dance Project, KINAJ, Colleen Snell, Frédérique Perron, Kaelin Isserlin, Vania Dodoo-Beales, Darryl Tracy, and Renee Smith for Peggy Baker Dance Projects.
Her interests in history, production, and pedagogy have garnered Adams-Gossage roles as production associate with Dance theatre David Earle, rehearsal assistant with Rock Bottom Movement, and class demonstrator to Peggy Baker, Rosemary James, Pat Miner, and Darryl Tracy at STDT, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Canada’s National Ballet School. She leads regular improvisational classes in Toronto’s professional contemporary dance community.
About the Partners
The Toronto Biennial of Art’s mission is to make contemporary art accessible to everyone. A ten-week event every two years, the Biennial commissions artists to create new works for a city-wide exhibition in dialogue with Toronto’s diverse local contexts. Year-round public and learning programs bridge the Biennials and invite intergenerational audiences to explore the ideas that inspire our events. Building upon past editions and offering new ways of seeing and listening, each Biennial connects people to spark meaningful dialogues and imagine new futures. The next iteration of the Biennial will take place September 21–December 1, 2024.
Pride Toronto is a not-for-profit organization with a mission to support our communities in the pursuit of unequivocal rights to be known, be heard, be understood, be accepted, be respected, and to celebrate the beauty of who we are. Uniting and empowering people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, the annual Pride Toronto Festival has become a major Canadian Arts and Cultural Event, and the largest Pride celebration in North America. Pride showcases Toronto on the world stage with diversity, inclusion, and vibrant creativity.
