Artists hope Nuit Blanche Saskatoon goers savour advice

Messages will be deliciously delivered at Nuit Blanche in Saskatoon Saturday from those who aren't able to be there, thanks to a project by two local artists.

Linda Duvall and Alana Moore teamed up for the project which will share messages from 'Those Who are Absent'.

Moore collected messages from seniors who live at the Sherbrooke Community Centre, where she is the artist in residence, while Duvall gathered messages from inmates who are serving some of their federal time at a men's spiritual healing lodge near Prince Albert.

"We simply asked them to give advice to the people who are going to be at Nuit Blanche," Duvall explained, adding the responses ranged from different stances on marriage to issues like racism and how to be aware of it.

Moore said it was amazing to work outside of a traditional way of making art, using words and conversations in this project.

"So using conversation as a practice in itself, as an art medium in itself, opened up and sort of made accessible this art world or this practice to individuals who would otherwise never set foot in the art studio itself," Moore said.

The icing on the cupcake

In all the two artists collected 200 pieces of advice, which will be shared with people via cupcakes.

The pair will offer the cupcakes at their tent. Those wishing to have one will read the message of advice aloud, then will be asked to respond to it. The responses will be tape and eventually played back to the original people who gave the advice.

"If anything we want them to be challenged by the advice and maybe disagree. Having conversations, having disagreements is actually a really important part of this process," Duvall said.

Nuit Blanche Saskatoon is being held throughout Victoria Park and River Landing from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. CST. This year, the free art festival is centred around the subject of food, with a theme of "creative cuisine as agent of change".