The first of a thousand nights, ToNite’s launch event

The event held at the Holden School of Turin on February 14th 2020 had as its central theme the concept of nightlife to be intended as incubator for solutions and aggregate of stories and representations which improve the common perception of the city.

ToNite is a project of urban inclusion aimed at improving the perceived security in the Dora area -one of the main rivers of the city of Turin- during night hours. Both the title – The first of a thousand nights – and the specific design of the event were to invoke the collection of middle eastern tales “One thousand and one nights” by recalling both the nightlife and the multicultural dimension of the neighborhoods touched upon by the river Dora.

Moreover, the title was also designed to recall actions of storytelling and community engagement launched in the first part of the project – “Le mille notti”  – with the goal of strengthening the sense of community amongst the inhabitants of the Dora area through the acquaintance and diffusion of its inhabitants’ biographies.

Just as the stories in the original collection allowed Sharazad to “get through the night” and save himself escaping the Sultan’s rage, Tonite’s first official night – along with videos and storytelling projects- was meant to start actions to overcome stereotypes and prejudices in order to create greater social inclusion and cohesion.

The city of Turin –together with its partners- has presented ToNite’s vision, as well as the reasons behind the project and further actions that will be carried out in the next three years. This event marked a symbolic passing of the torch with the previous project Co-City, a UIA project by the city of Turin which had concluded its activities with a final press conference that same morning at the Casa del Quartiere Cecchi Point venue.

During the event, several ideas have been launched -through music, performances, and tales- in order to obtain a different perception of the nightlife, a perception to be intended as a moment for cities to spark new energy and spirit of belonging. The event was also attended by numerous residents of the Aurora area (one of the focus areas of the project) who had the opportunity to look at the nightlife in their neighborhood under a new light thanks to the stories and tales played by street artists and jazzmen on stage.

Using a video made for the occasion, Tonite’s first action was launched: a research project on the quality of life and the potential of the Aurora and Vanchiglia neighborhoods, whose results – published in September 2020 – will guide the next steps of the project.