For the first time in 47 years, a legendary piece of art that’s called Spadina subway station home for decades is set to be displayed at a Toronto museum as part of a larger exhibition celebrating the work of renowned Canadian artist Joyce Wieland.
In the mid-1970s, as the TTC was planning to expand its network with nine new subway stops stretching out of the downtown core, it commissioned several artists to create artwork for the upcoming transit stops, including Wieland.
Recognized globally as one of the leading Canadian contemporary artists of the 20th century, Wieland’s artwork “Barren Ground Caribou” continued the ecological themes in her work. The nostalgic quilt, which consists of layers of cotton fabric stuffed with synthetic batting, has been a fixture at the station’s Kendal Avenue entry since it was unveiled in 1978.
In 1975, Wieland said that the quilt “expresses aspects of the public’s growing awareness of their environment and its preservation,” and that “a subway station is an obvious place to make an offering to nature.”
The artwork measures nine metres long and two and a half metres tall, and is the largest quilt Wieland has ever made. Hand-stitching, appliqué, and quilting work were carried out by Joan Stewart Associates for eight months, which employed women who practiced their craft for years in Ontario.
Speaking about the artwork, Wieland said, “While running towards the lower level to catch a train in a subway, one is confronted with a depiction of a group of Barren Ground Caribou in quilted form … the subject is a favourite ecological theme having to do with the preservation of our Canadian natural heritage.”
“Here the lordly Caribou, those marvelous beasts who roam the barren ground, are seen wandering across the Tundra covered with delicate Arctic flora. The quilt is at once intimate and familiar – a very human offering in the purely technological environment of a subway station.”
After almost half a century, the artwork is officially on the move, with its first stop being the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) for an exhibition titled Joyce Wieland: Heart On. The exhibition features over 100 works, including recently restored films and highlights Wieland’s five decades of activism and art.
Back in December, the artwork was carefully disassembled and transported by a team of conservators and art handlers in preparation for the exhibition. The quilt is currently on view at the MMFA until May 4 and will officially be on display at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) starting on June 21.
Once the AGO exhibition closes in January 2026, the quilt will be reinstalled at its home in Spadina station.
