The case for a marvelous mural project on Ryerson campus

The downtown Yonge neighbourhood was hit hard by COVID, and is only now getting back on its feet. The busiest neighbourhood in the city saw a dramatic reduction in foot traffic – down 67% from pre-pandemic levels, according to the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area. The PATH was hollowed out. The Eaton Centre lay idle. Just next door, the TMU campus sat empty for a year, with students participating virtually from home. As the city rebounds from the impact of COVID’s strong left hook (and successive jabs from the Delta and Omicron variants), how do we bring life back to Toronto’s core? If downtown Yonge is the economic engine of the city, how do we return the neighbourhood energy that is so vital to the city’s overall recovery?

The answer may lie in a strategic artistic intervention – a mural project that utilizes available space on Ryerson campus and creative problem-solving from student artists. A mural project offers an opportunity to reinvigorate campus, and through osmosis, reinvigorate downtown Yonge. Currently, retail vacancy along Yonge Street sits at 14-18% (according to DYBIA). Pre-pandemic, downtown Yonge hosted 500,000 workers and 180,000 full-time residents (external link) . To those numbers, Ryerson’s population added over 110,000 students each year. Including tourists, downtown Yonge saw 20,000,000 total commuters annually pre-pandemic (source: class presentation 2021). If Ryerson can reactivate foot traffic on campus, that is a major base of potential financial support from which a greater revitalization can springboard off from.

Consider that Toronto residents have been staring at the same empty, grey sidewalks and the same digital screens for over a year now. They have been cooped up, stuck inside, and limited. What Toronto needs more than anything is something new and something vibrant. We want to stretch our legs. We want to believe in possibility again, and have new experiences. And that is why a mural project on Ryerson campus can be so central to the neighbourhood’s post-COVID recovery. A expressive mural project that collects our known pasts and speculative futures and presents it to us – bam – a splash of colour on our institutional walls.

Why Ryerson? Because the campus is a major partner in downtown Yonge’s economic health, and because the university has canvases aplenty to choose from. Some are large grey walls, some are small, intimate spaces – but all are ripe for creative potential. Ryerson students themselves are also the next generation of creators and city builders. There is an opportunity here to offer experience and training to young artists, and to stimulate minds with creative expression. Ryerson is a perfect incubator for creative talent, connecting infrastructure with idea generation. Campus is a site for learning, a safe space to work out new ideas – and if Ryerson truly believes in that educational mission, it needs to express it in practice.

But, do murals really work? Yes, and no, and it depends! More than just a coat of paint, murals offer engagement with a city. They offer opportunities for representation and expression in an unexpected environment. They offer neighbourhood landmarks and meeting places. They offer economic potential and safety in increased foot traffic. A mural works when it provides training and preparation for young artists. A mural works when a resident changes their commute to walk past it. A mural works when that intangible sense of connection to a place is felt. Sure, murals can’t bring a shopper directly into a store. They can’t put a dollar in your pocket and in fact do require an investment to even create. But what they can do instead is offer a cultural environment that city residents are proud of, interested in, or maybe even challenged by. Consider Graffiti Alley, or Underpass Park. Murals offer conversation with a city. 

There are immediate concerns, such as site selection and setup and maintenance of the artwork. There also needs to be an artist selection process, and consultation with the public. And there needs to be a system that creates a sense of connection between selected sites. But with enough flexibility, any concerns can be overcome. If painted murals pose an obstacle, then we should seek other, more temporary art forms. Consider the billboard project of CF Toronto and OCAD U (external link) , or the digital display of work from the School of Image Arts at Yonge-Dundas Square (external link) . The campus canvas might limit the application, but we can always implement alternative mediums that are creative and cost-effective.

Consider too that this potential project fits into Toronto’s new public art strategy that kicked off in Fall 2021 with the Year of Public Art (external link) , and the city also has a dedicated major public art resource, StreetARToronto (StART (external link) ) that could assist. StART already collaborated on many painted Bell boxes around campus, as well as other larger works, including a major 23-storey mural from Okuda San Miguel not far off at Church and Jarvis. Why not extend this public artwork tradition into campus?

We face some unique challenges (and opportunities) that confirm now is the time to initiate a mural project. 2021 was a significant year of discovery and reconciliation, and we saw renewed public investment in city life. Ryerson itself is grappling with an identity shift. As our old models of city life are being interrogated, the mural form offers a method to reckon with our past, and experiment with a vision for our future. And where better place to develop this vision than a campus of higher learning.

If the COVID experience taught us anything, it’s that maybe we don’t want to return to the same world we last saw before we retreated into our homes. Maybe we’d like to imagine a new world, a more colourful world – one with greater possibilities, and better stories.