By Hamutal Dotan

Image by Marc Lostracco/Torontoist.

Aha! we thought, when news of the TTC’s long-anticipated project to put art on our beloved Metropasses landed in our inbox: they get it! By issuing a public call for submissions of interest, the TTC was demonstrating not only a sensitivity to the small aesthetic details that can brighten our day, but giving Torontonians the opportunity to actively engage with the transit system on which they are most often merely passive riders. Maybe, we even dared think, Valentine Makhouleen’s nifty designs might actually be put to use.
Er, not so fast.
According to the Request for Interest (RFI) issued yesterday [PDF], in order to be eligible to participate in this program you must: be an organization (not an individual); be a public sector or not-for-profit entity; and own and display art publicly, but not primarily be in the business of selling art. Who exactly, we started wondering, would meet this set of criteria? Puzzled, we turned to Brad Ross, the TTC’s director of corporate communications (and sometimes contributor to our Rocket Talk column), who told us in an email that “I don’t want to limit an organization from not participating by omitting them as an example, but institutions like the ROM, OCAD, AGO are just some possibilities.”
In short, this initiative is not about the little guy.

Now, to be clear, there are several aspects of this program that we heartily endorse. Prettier Metropasses? Ones which are reflective of the city? Soliciting outside interest at all? Excellent notions, all. But why, we can’t help but wonder, must the TTC turn only to extremely well-established, well-appreciated institutions to accomplish these goals? Why limit submissions to organizations and exclude individual artists and designers? Ross’s answer, in full, to this question:

The primary purpose for the Metropass is, of course, unlimited access to the system. Making the pass more aesthetically pleasing is the goal here. As the RFI states, the art needs to come from not-for-profit organizations and cannot be sold for 12 months after the art is featured on a pass. Limiting submissions to organizations or institutions helps ensure control over this important aspect of the program. Art on the Metropass cannot be used a marketing tool. Furthermore, there will be no compensation for its use.

Herein lies the problem. It’s fair enough to keep this whole program non-commercial (in fact, we’re big fans of that), but it’s simply false to think that the only way to do this is to keep individuals out of the game entirely. In taking this overly anxious approach, the TTC is radically underestimating the goodwill of Torontonians, many of whom would be delighted to design Metropass art for no other reason than it would be pretty damn fun. Keep the clauses that ensure submitters won’t profit from participating in this program, but let the eager, TTC-loving individuals into the sandbox to play.

Photo by bomb_tea from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.

And what of the organizations that are eligible? We contacted the three that Ross cited explicitly, curious as to whether they were excited at the opportunity with which they, if not the rest of us, had been presented. All expressed significant interest in the program, and told us they were already in the process of studying the RFI. Francisco Alvarez, managing director of the ROM’s Institute for Contemporary Culture, wrote us to say that “I think it is quite likely that we will apply, but we want to consider all our upcoming special exhibitions for the best fit. We think it’s a wonderful opportunity that will benefit many local arts organizations over time, and make the Metropass itself more fun to use and collect.” Sarah Mulholland, media and communications officer at OCAD, gave us an even more definitive response, writing to us that “OCAD will respond with interest.”
We’re glad that they will. Anything that these and similarly eligible institutions submit is likely to be more appealing than the current Metropass designs, and it is surely preferable if only in that it brings other Toronto-based organizations into the TTC fold—we certainly don’t want to squelch this kind of interaction. Nonetheless, we can’t help but hope that next time around, the TTC considers, just considers, that private citizens as well are eager to contribute. Prejudging that this interest will likely be mercenary isn’t doing those citizens any kind of justice.