Trenton’s Art All Night goes virtual for 2020

'Art All Night' goes virtual

Thousands turned out for the 11th year of Art All Night 2017 at the historic Roebling Wire Works in Trenton. This year's event has been shifted to online. Phil McAuliffe for the Times of TrentonPhil McAuliffe for the Times of Trenton

Trenton’s already once-delayed annual “Art All Night” 24-hour showcase of local arts will take place from 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16.

Though if you’re in Helsinki, Finland, the hours will be 10 p.m. Saturday to 10 p.m. Sunday.

And, of course, for those in Tahiti, French Polynesia, make that 9 a.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday.

The thing is, the festival this year was bullied by coronavirus to move all the action from its traditional venue -- the expansive Roebling Wire Works in Trenton -- to the even more expansive internet. And while that may take some of the glimmer out of event, it opens up a world of possibilities.

“What is exciting is we will be able to provide the ‘Art All Night’ experience not just to those who can travel to Trenton, but to anyone tuning in from across the country or around the world,” said Art All Night director Joseph Kuzemka.

Presented by Artworks, “Trenton’s Visual Arts Center,” “Art All Night” is an open showcase of visual art, live music, films, children’s activities, demonstrations, master classes and talks. Anyone wishing to submit a work to be displayed is encouraged to sign up online or email education@artworkstrenton.org.

This year marks the 14th annual installment of “Art All Night.” It originally was scheduled for June but then was postponed to August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, the decision was made to scrap the on-site affair and go virtual instead.

“As uncertainty continues over when and how New Jersey will recover from COVID-19, the likelihood of holding a festival in August, in Trenton, with thousands of attendees seemed increasingly remote,” said Artworks executive director Lauren Otis. “We realized it was prudent to make other plans, and the more we explored the idea of a virtual event, the more we realized how exciting the possibilities were.”

It’s not the first time Artworks has had to improvise.

Last year, for the first time, the event didn’t run for 24 hours straight at Roebling Wire Works, but closed down from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday as an extra security measure. That move came in wake of 2018′s tragic shooting spree outside the festival, in which 22 people were injured and one person was killed.

'Art All Night' goes virtual

Trenton's "Art All Night" 24-hour festival will be held on the internet this year from 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16.artworkstrenton.org

Admittedly still in the act of “rebuilding ‘Art All Night'” to its past glory, the event’s organizers this year are counting on T-shirt sales to generate revenues: “Since we cannot rely on door donations this year due to the fact that we’ve had to move to a virtual format,” the online appeal reads, “T-shirt sales will be our main source of fundraising alongside individual donations that we’re currently accepting on our website and as we will during our live, virtual presentation.”

T-shirts can be ordered at aantrenton.org/shop.

FWIW: It doesn’t specify if Finnish euros or Tahitian French Pacific francs will be acceptable forms of payment.

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Patrick O’Shea may be reached at poshea@njadvancemedia.com.

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