Toronto’s all night art festival is back, and we’ve trolled the list of 130 free exhibits on offer all over the city and picked our favourite stops. Whether you’re hitting a few key spots, or staying up ’til dawn traipsing from neighbourhood to neighbourhood, these exhibits should definitely be on your list.

ZONE A: Downtown North
A City Sleepover by Jessica Rose. Lower Bay Station (Bay Street Entrance)
As if getting to tramp around the secret Bay subway station wasn’t cool enough, Jessica Rose, former art director of Toronto Life, is staging a giant sleepover in the legendary space. BYO Toothbrush, PJs, and sleeping bag.

Night Light Travels by Ben Chaisson, Beth Kates, Lynda Hill, Jody Kramer. Artscape Wychwood Barns (Playground Studios and Theatre Direct)
A room will be filled with magical objects, and festivalgoers will travel through a bedsheet tunnel (HELLLLOOOO CORALINE) to experience it. So cool!

L’echo-l’eau by Richard Purdy. MaRS (101 College St.) 
A representation of a traditional log run that you can traverse in rain gear or experience barefoot. 

Medicine Walk Sunrise Ceremony by U of T Aboriginal Studies Program. Kahontake Kitikan Garden (East side of Hart House, West side of University Avenue, at Queen’s Park) 
At 6:30 am, audiences will be invited to join in a Sunrise Ceremony as part of this multi-disciplinary celebration that re-members and reclaims Aboriginal knowledge, artistry and language. 

ZONE B: Downtown Central/East
The Heart Machine by Christine Irving and Interactive Art. Parking Lot, 640 Bay St. (Between Elm St. and Edward St.) 
Premiered at Burning Man, this interactive installation combines sculpture, flame effects, and technology. The machine and city coexist in a symbiotic relationship and citizens must tend to it. 

The St. James Circus by Anthony Swan, Hillary Predko, Maihyet Burton, Denis Taman Bradette. Distillery District, 55 Mill St. (Building 74) 
Carnival and vaudeville elements come together in this improvisational, audience-participation circus. 

Film, Vinyl, Paper by LeuWebb Projects. On Yonge St. between Elm & Gould. 
Films, records and books will be transformed into amenities, like furniture, to reoccupy public space with disappearing media. 

Honey, I’m Home by James Warrack, Cheryl Hsu, Nicole Bazuin, Sarah Allen Eagen, Wendy Cukier. 310 Church St. 
This is your chance to embody Danny Tanner and Bill Cosby. LIVE THE DREAM! People of all ages and gender will have the opportunity to embody the role of the traditional sitcom father. 

Residue by Richelle Forsey, Peter Brickell, Kevin McBride, Sandros Valencia, Rimma Skeini, Jamie Thompson. Beaver Hall Gallery, 29 McCaul St. 
Explore the residue left behind by abandoned urban spaces. Real and projected residue will come together as you explore the space. 

ZONE C: Downtown South/West
Bone Dump by Maura Doyle. Alley between 10 and 18 King St. E. 
A large pile of handmade porcelain bones. Porcelain, like bone, can last for millenia, or break. 

INFRA by Tonya Hart. Three locations: Cloud Gardens on Temperance St., South Forecourt of Scotia Plaza at 40 King St. W., and 10 Toronto St. 
A pack of infrared wolves stalk three locations around the city.

Intensity by John Notten. Arnell Plaza, Bay Adelaide Centre, 333 Bay St.
Intensity hearkens back to the 2002 Tent City eviction from a desolate stretch of Toronto waterfront land. Viewers will occupy and then be forced to evict temporary tent homes.

City Mouse by Julia Hepburn. Scotia Plaza, Interior, Main Floor, 40 King St. W.
A forest is built in the financial district, and the bodies of the wildlife contain scenes of everyday office life, with their organs replaced by workers.

A Brief History of Rebellion by Sam Sutherland, Ashley Carter, and Aaron Zorgel. Toronto Underground Cinema, 186 Spadina Ave. 
A group of Toronto musicians will play Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ 144 times.

We Are Water by Chloe Rose, Ava Downey, Taylor Lemaire, Grace Rooke, Sam Earle, The Do.Crew. 
Teenagers have designed a 1600 square foot maze made of recycled cans, to represent the issues with access to water in Canada.

Singin’ In The Dark: Eighties Edition by Shane Smith. TIFF Bell Lightbox, 350 King St. W.
Movies like Fame, Footloose, Little Shop of Horrors, Flashdance, and more. Follow the bouncing ball on the screen and sing along.

The Life Long Burning Question Project by Stephanie Cormier, Camille Turner, TSA Students. LeVack Block, 88 Ossington Ave. 
Toronto School of Art students mailed postcards to random addresses asking people to write back with a life long burning question. These postcards will be displayed, and visitors can answer them and send them back to the original writer, or leave their own question.

~ Haley Cullingham