Start at the big one. Stuart Reid’s Zones of Immersion is a 500-foot-long glass mural, developed over six years, and it runs the entire length of a Union Station subway platform. The TTC says it integrates 160 hand-wrought panels into the station’s structural frame and describes it as one of the largest permanent public art projects in Toronto history. Our pick for a first stop.
City DeskList
TTC Stations With Public Art in Toronto: Station by Station
From a 500-foot glass mural at Union to mosaic walls on Line 5 Eglinton, here are nine TTC stops where the commute comes with something to look at.
Some commutes come with a gallery attached, and you do not need a ticket to walk in.
Why does the TTC have so much station art?
The TTC says its public art programs have assembled a collection that, in scale and diversity, is of international significance. Art is an important part of major station upgrades. When a station gets a new work, the concepts are chosen by art juries that include one local representative for each station. Following that selection, the concepts and public feedback go to the TTC Board for approval, and the chosen artists then develop each work with the TTC’s chief architect and construction project teams.
Here is our station-by-station list, from the downtown subway to the new crosstown line. Every title and artist below comes from the TTC or Metrolinx. You can do one stop on the way to something else, or string several together into a slow, scenic afternoon. Either way, give each piece a full minute. Public art rewards a second look, especially when a train is not about to arrive.
Which TTC stations have public art?
What is on Line 5 Eglinton?
Metrolinx says the art pieces on Line 5 range from mosaics and paintings to large-scale installations.
Janice Kerbel’s The Ride of Your Life is a series of large-scale mosaic wall works. Metrolinx says high-contrast black and white tiles form big text compositions in multiple typefaces and sizes. It is the one for anyone who loves lettering.
Douglas Coupland’s Super Signals is a colourful work of art waiting here. Cedarvale is also where Line 5 meets the TTC’s Line 1 subway, at Allen Road and Eglinton Avenue, so it pairs easily with a ride on Line 1.
The main entrance features a window art display by Ontario artist Nicholas Pye. The work is called Assembly with Colour, Rhythm and Form, and according to the artist it recalls the points where lines meet on a transit map and speaks to the cultural mosaic of Oakwood Village. A transit map as art, inside a transit stop. We like that.
Joseph Kosuth’s Locations of Meaning (for Toronto) is the word “meaning” translated into the 72 languages spoken in the City of Toronto metropolitan area. Each word is laser cut in stainless steel and inset into etched tile, so the wall work is fully integrated with the station design. Kennedy is the east end of the line, with connections to Stouffville line GO trains and the TTC’s Line 2 subway.
Metrolinx tells art enthusiasts passing through to look for Total Lunar Eclipse by Sarah Morris, a piece that features silkscreened porcelain tiles. The station is at Don Mills Road and Eglinton Avenue East.
Which stations have community murals?
The TTC also runs a community art program, and it is a good reason to look up at a station entrance. The TTC says it supports up to four community art projects each year.
Shalak Attack’s Daily Migration is a three-part installation exploring themes of migration through shared stories of arrival, departure, home and longing. The artist worked alongside community participants who identify as newcomers. It was completed in September 2021 and sits at the Tippet Road entrance, south of Wilson Avenue.
Flocking Together by the KJ Bit Collective is a mural that includes local birds such as pileated woodpeckers and finch species. Find it at the Harlandale entrance. Bring your inner birder.
The TTC lists a mosaic mural by Christina Delago, unveiled in October 2016, that celebrates the life and spirit of the Coxwell and Danforth neighbourhood. Check the TTC’s art page for the latest before you go.
What art is coming to Line 2 stations?
The TTC says public art is being provided at five Line 2 stations as part of the Easier Access Phase III and Second Exit projects. The concepts were shown at a community open house at the Toronto Reference Library on November 14, 2024. Here is what the TTC has described for each:
- Bay: Francisco-Fernando Granados’s confluence, a glass mosaic for the walls and ceiling of the Cumberland Street entrance.
- Castle Frank: Vivian Rosas’s Earth Runs Wild, a three-dimensional wall installation spanning three connecting walls.
- Christie: Sanaz Mazinani’s Rise Together, large photographic artworks that invite viewers into a scavenger hunt.
- Donlands: April Hickox’s Field, a photographic painting on glass of meadow flowers, birds and insects.
- Lansdowne: Steven Beckly’s Shifting Beauty, which pairs photography with short poems written by members of the local community.
Check the TTC’s art page to see which have been installed.
How do you plan a station-art day?
Pair art with a transfer you were making anyway, and carry your phone for photos. Union connects to the PATH, which the TTC says opened alongside the Merchant Mall in 1976, giving direct underground access to and from the subway. Our PATH guide and Union Station guide will fill an afternoon. For the Line 5 stops, our Line 5 Eglinton guide lists the parks and museums between them, and the full set of transit-minded picks lives in our explore Toronto by transit guide.
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Sources (7)
- TTC Public Art Program, TTC
- Community Art Program, TTC
- Station Spotlight: Union Station, TTC
- New art installations going up at Eglinton Crosstown LRT station, Metrolinx
- Take a look inside Line 5 Eglinton, Metrolinx
- Inside Eglinton Crosstown's Oakwood Station, Metrolinx
- Line 5 Eglinton unlocks transit connections across the GTA, Metrolinx
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“Saving this for a slow Saturday ride: the TTC and Line 5 stations with real public art, with the artists and titles.”
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