Artwork gives Union Station Bus Terminal a pop of colour

TORONTO—New art installations are going up on both levels of the new Union Station Bus Terminal (USBT) in Toronto starting Nov. 1 changing the view inside of the transit hub for those who use it.

Anna Passakas and Radoslaw Kudlinski artists from Blue Republic based in Toronto were among six Canadian artists who were invited to participate in a call for submissions held by Metrolinx and managed by DEXD, a design company and art consultant of the project.

A jury of art and design professionals assessed the concept designs and Blue Republic was selected as the winning team.

Blue Republic created a series of figures that “speak to the universal experience of travel, a theme that best represents the inside of the building.”

The process took about a year. The art will be installed over the course of three days and the station will remain fully functional during that time. In terms of safety, the areas where the art will go up will be cordoned off but will not block access to the gates or zones so customers will still be able to get to their GO buses.

“These walls are almost asking for something colourful that would break the linear grid and animate the space,” said Passakas in a statement. “We hope that this project will energize the USBT. Human life is organic, and we want to inject this organic quality, plus the sense of humour and excitement into the station, so that anyone walking by can feel the uplifting effect art has to offer.”