Nuit Blanche — Toronto’s annual sunset-to-sunrise art show — returned Saturday evening to showcase nearly 90 installations from more than 300 artists, spread across the city from the Aga Khan Museum to the Fort York neighbourhood.

From a gigantic pair of hands to the (artistic) firing of babies out of a cannon, here are some highlights of the annual sunset-to-sunrise event.

Detritus

At the City of Toronto Transportation Yard, artist Jonathan Schipper invited the audience to view a 3D printer make everyday objects out of salt crystals — which later dissolved into a mountain of salt.

Everyone Wants a Free Baby!

The parachute of a baby is carefully wrapped in "Everyone Wants a Free Baby!", a performance art created by Studio F Minus. Every 20 minutes, a brand new "baby" is shot from a cannon into the sky, gently parachuting into the crowd below. Steve Russell/Toronto Star

Nearby, on the Garrison Common in the Fort York National Historic Site, Studio F Minus regularly projected a toy baby out of a cannon, before slowly falling to the watching crowd below. According to the artist, it’s meant to consider the parallels between violence and tenderness.

Peace to the Past, Reach for the Future

"Peace to the Past, Reach for the Future," by artists Esmaa Mohamoud and Bryan Espiritu celebrate the Raptors turning 25. Steve Russell/Toronto Star

Put your hands up! As a way to honour the Toronto Raptors championship and celebrate the diverse communities that support the team, Bryan Espiritu and Esmaa Mohamoud created an 18-foot (5.5 metre) sculpture of the team symbol.

Lunar Garden

"Lunar Garden," by Daniel Arsham, at the 2019 Nuit Blanche. Steve Russell/Toronto Star

Nearby at Nathan Phillips Square, New York’s Daniel Arsham brought a large Japanese-inspired garden to the downtown core. There’s 30-foot light orb resembling the moon lighting up a landscape of colourful sand. The garden is one of a few exhibits that will be open until Oct. 12.

On Thin Ice

Ghost Atelier, a collective specializing in the influence of environments on humans, set up shop at Yonge-Dundas Square with a massive shard of “cracked ice” to represent the effects of climate change and the threat of the climate crisis.

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Ilya Bañares is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @ilyaoverseas

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