WINNIPEG -- Nuit Blanche Winnipeg is looking for artists for its 2020 event, but there will be some changes for how this year’s event will look as a result of public health guidelines.

Nicole Matiation, co-chair of Culture Days Manitoba, said it was important to bring the event back for Manitobans.

“We think it’s really important to give the citizens of Manitoba the opportunity to continue their engagement with arts and culture, and continue to express their enjoyment of arts and culture,” she said.

Organizers are looking for contemporary art submissions from Manitoba artists who’d like to take part in the event on Sept. 26. Artists who work in any medium can submit new, existing, or in-process creations, which reflect the ‘Illuminate the Night’ theme using public interaction, lights, and spectacle.

The event, which is produced by Culture Days Manitoba, is an exploration of contemporary art that takes place on the final Saturday of September to kick off Culture Days Manitoba’s month of events, which runs Sept. 25 to Oct. 25.

The event takes place in several areas of Winnipeg, including the Exchange District, Downtown, St. Boniface, and the West End.

This year’s Nuit Blanche will take place from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. free of charge with COVID-19 protocols already in place.

“This year, we are encouraging people to be outside, so we’ll focus on art installations and presentations that can be done in an outside space,” said Matiation. “Each event will require physical distancing, and we’ll be encouraging people to move about. So rather than congregate over a long period of time, people will be encouraged to stop and enjoy the installation and then move on to the next one.”

Matiation said they’re also encouraging artists to provide online projects to allow people to enjoy Nuit Blanche.

Anyone who wants to organize an event for Nuit Blanche Winnipeg can register online. 

Once the event is created, they must email nuitblanchewpg@gmail.com and say where the event is located and how it will adhere to public health guidelines.