Union Station has a free public exhibit with dreamy artwork from Black artists you don’t want to miss

Toronto’s Union Station is continuing the second part of its free art exhibit with the theme of Black Dreams and Aspirations. 

On Wednesday, the second installation of the two-part series was unveiled to the media at the station’s Great Hall.

The exhibition is curated by MakeRoom Inc., a curatorial agency and arts organization that provides opportunities for BIPOC and emerging artists. 

“We wanted to choose a theme that allowed for play and imagination because dreams and aspirations start with the imagination and it starts with play. To have a better, more equitable future that starts with a dream,” MakeRoom Inc. founder Trevor Twells told Now Toronto.

The organization paired up with Union Station and TD to create an experience for travellers and commuters to observe art that depicts overcoming barriers to achieving dreams while Black, how cultural practices create dreams, dreams of freedom, and dreaming of a more accessible future. 

Over 100 artists applied to be part of the exhibit and 12 were selected for both installations.

“We had three jurors from the arts community, one from Union and one from our TD sponsor, to score the artists in an open and fair process. We chose the top 20 and then saw which themes go together,” Twells said. 

At the exhibit, passersby will see tall displays of real-life photography, starry images, and even works combining brail all related to the main theme of what it means to dream while Black. 

One of the selected artists, Delali Cofie, just finished studying at the Ontario College of Art and Design. As an emerging Black artist, he’s getting used to his work being seen by thousands of people in Union Station’s high-traffic area.

“We get to be platformed in spaces where we can share our stories to show the narratives that we’re constructing and thinking about,” Cofie told Now Toronto. 

His artwork features a picture of his friend wearing a necklace called “the tree of life.” 

Theodore Walker Robinson is a visually impaired Black artist who’s selected piece is inspired by Langston Hughes’ poem “Dreams,” which also inspired the prompt when applying for the exhibition. 

“How wonderful would it be to make this accessible to low vision and visually impaired Black folks, just like myself, who would be reading something similar?” Robinson told Now Toronto

“The reason I created it was to really show people in my community who look like me that they belong and can be involved in their dreams,” they continued. 

Walker Robinson grew up in a Black family where disability was stigmatized, including ways to manage learning disabilities. As a result, they never learned how to read Braille as a child.

“It was something that was almost taken away from me…I’ve learned that I can actually read sometimes 10x faster if I had learned Braille from a young age,” they said.

Artist Ridge Levene’s selected piece was inspired by his reflections from his 31st birthday on his younger self compared to who he is now. 

“Our younger self is having all these dreams and expectations of what we want to look like in the future whereas our older self is asking our younger self, ‘I wish I could tell my younger self this or that to make our future brighter,’” Levene told Now Toronto.

Levene is proud to showcase his vulnerability even at a busy spot like Union Station, especially as a Black man.

“We are always looked at as being the strong ones or being the protector or provider. We don’t have a space to show our vulnerable self, so I’m glad I was able to show my piece,” he said. 

The public is welcome to view the exhibit anytime while it is on display until August.