A recap of 12 Hours of Power

The 2009 edition of Nuit Blanche did not start off fortuitously. Shortly after setting up 12 Hours of Power in Berczy Park, a thunderstorm hit Toronto, drenching the entire project and blowing one of the lights into the fountain. One of the inverter batteries also went up, literally, in smoke when it was turned on after the storm. It made me think enviously of all the Nuit Blanche exhibitions that took place indoors.

By 7:30pm, the rain had stopped and a steady flow of people came to participate in 12 Hours of Power. Sometimes, attendees had to be coaxed onto the bike; a few insisted on remaining spectators. Fortunately, the majority of the visitors jumped onto the bikes without reservation and got very excited about powering their light bulb or water spout. It was interesting to hear participants express a preference for either the light bulb, which directly reflected the amount of pedaling effort, or the fountain, which required less effort for more spectacular results.

A small portion of attendees were vocal about their disappointment in the project. They had expected a more spectacular display and were put off by the lackluster light that their efforts generated. To those detractors, I would point out that a muted fountain display was pretty much guaranteed and part of the message. Berczy Park fountain requires great amounts of electricity to maintain and only a park full of pedal generators could have recreated the display that Torontonians are used to.

Attendees who got the project's message were very supportive of increased environmental awareness. A few actually proposed making the project a permanent fixture at Berczy Park so that the fountain need never be a wasteful display again. It was not an idea that ever occurred to me but I was impressed with their zeal.

The crowds pretty much petered off at 3am and the attendance was sporadic thereafter. This was preferable to my fear that we would be inundated by crowds of rowdy drunks coming from the clubs and bars that descended on previous Nuit Blanche events after 2am.

My experience as an exhibitor with Nuit Blanche was a very exciting but satisfying experience. After planning over the last nine months, it was great to finally see my ideas in action and the reaction of the public - good and bad.