How a London bus shelter became a canvas for public art

At the corner of Ontario and King streets, across from the Western Fair Farmers’ Market, a rapid transit bus shelter sits like dozens of others across London.

Except above the roofline.

Running along the top of the shelter is a series of illustrated panels with archival images layered with bright colour and bold shapes, a piece of public art visible to anyone willing to look up while waiting for the bus.

“Public art is amazing because it changes a space, it starts conversation, and it tells a story,” London artist Katie Wilhelm, the creator of the piece, said. “And that’s exactly what this artwork is doing here.” 

The artwork, titled Midway Memories, is the first installation under a City of London initiative to add public art to rapid transit bus shelters. 

The city plans to begin a broader rollout in the spring of 2026, starting with 11 shelters along the Downtown Loop and East London Link, with additional installations planned in stages through 2028 as rapid transit construction continues.

The first of many

Wilhelm was selected through the city’s public art process, working with the London Arts Council, as part of the first phase of the shelter program.

The Ontario and King location was chosen as the pilot site because it was the city’s first rapid transit shelter, installed in 2024, making it a natural test case for both materials and design.

For Wilhelm, the location also shaped the concept.

“Londoners have been having fun and having great, joyful experiences on this ground that we’re standing on for 200 years now,” she said. “It was really important to me to bring a fun element to this retelling of history, and then bring it forward to today.”

The shelter sits on the edge of the Western Fair grounds, a site with more than two centuries of history as a place where Londoners have gathered, celebrated and worked.

That history became the foundation for Midway Memories, which draws on archival images of the fairgrounds and reinterprets them through a contemporary lens.

“The memories that were made here in Midtown were memories of joy, of fun, and I think that those memories are still being created in this space today.”

A city wide approach

City officials say the decision to integrate art into rapid transit shelters grew out of public feedback gathered during the rapid transit environmental assessment.

“They expressed a really strong desire for the shelters to showcase themes that were unique to each neighbourhood,” the city’s director of construction and infrastructure services Jennie Dann said.

Dann wants the artwork to offer a piece of cultural heritage along transit corridors that are undergoing major change. It also makes bus shelters more welcoming.

“It helps foster community pride,” she said. “It aligns with best practices we’ve seen in cities around the world.”

The city plans to install artwork at dozens of shelters over time, with themes shaped by community input and ranging from Indigenous culture and local history to diversity, arts and music.

Wilhelm said the approach marks a shift in how public art is typically introduced in the city and opens the door for artists to take creative risks

“I hope artists who are interested in getting involved with this project really take it and run with it,” she said. “Be super creative and do something weird.”

City officials say the next phase of the program will include public engagement ahead of a second rollout of shelter artwork expected later in 2026.

Residents are being invited to share ideas for future installations at shelters planned for locations including Dundas Street near Kellogg Lane, Dundas Street at Eleanor Street, Highbury Avenue at Corinne Road and Highbury Avenue at Oxford Street. 

Feedback is being collected through the city’s Get Involved website until Friday, Feb. 27.