Feature: Artistic White Night in Bratislava attracts dozens of thousands visitors

White Night festival was held in the capital city of Slovakia, Bratislava during Saturday night to Sunday morning, attracted dozens of thousands visitors to join in.

It has been for the first time that Bratislava was like Paris, New York, Rome or Amsterdam, held the largest festival of contemporary art performance in Europe, announced White Night art director Zuzana Pacakova during Saturday´s night.

"It's an event for making current arts popular among the masses, and this is why it's free of charge and is taking place in a public space, as well as in somewhat a typical premises of the city," stressed Pacakova.

A total of 50 unique pieces of art involving the work of 150 artists and 49 kilometers of laser beams was presented throughout the Slovak capital on Saturday night. Also the facade of Bratislava Castle served as a screen for fairytales as part of the White Night festival.

"It's a special event making the current modern arts available to the public in an original manner by placing them outside the closed premises of galleries and in the public space," explained Slovak Parliamentary Chairman Peter Pellegrini. He added that Bratislava Castle as a national cultural monument also serves as a venue for culture, hosting several events, including concerts, theater performances and exhibitions.

Dozens of thousands visitors enjoyed not only the Bratislava Castle during the White Night, but also several other attractions. Predominantly light objects animated the Danube River embankment, underground areas of Pavol Orszagh Hviezdoslav Theater, the Old Market Hall, the Slovak National Gallery and other galleries. Also a Milky Way threaded out up to the sky from the room of the VUB Bank headquarters, which is more than 100 meters tall.

"We had a non-traditional walk through Bratislava. Some installations created the perfect harmony for music and light, " said 28-year-old visitor Jana Dedakova.

Organizers prepared three thematic routes, one for families with children, another one for spectators who tend to be rather hard to please, and a creative route called "Play!"

"It was almost impossible to see everything in one night. It was all rather about making people go in different directions to look for pieces of art that they may be interested in," concluded Pacakova.

White Night was established in Paris in 2002, which embodies the desire to discover urban environment which is given a new dimension through art. A city is transformed into an interactive space whose usual nocturnal cycle ceases to exist for a few hours. Contemporary art breathes life into the city at night and the night thus becomes "white." Endit