Black History Exhibition Opens at Union Station

The A Kind of Order exhibition brings together four acclaimed contemporary artists whose practices explore movement, migration, and transformation

A major multi-site public art exhibition that explores Black history, memory, and imagination is now open at Toronto Union. “A Kind of Order” features collage works by acclaimed contemporary artists Timothy Yanick Hunter, Aaron Jones, Thato Toeba, and Hazelle Palmer. Created in partnership with TD Bank Group (TD) and BAND Gallery, this immersive exhibit runs from Feb. 12 to Aug. 31 and will include guided tours.

Curated by Joséphine Denis, BAND Co-Director and Director of Curatorial Initiatives, A Kind of Order considers transit not only as physical passage, but as an emotional, intellectual, and imaginative state. Drawing inspiration from Dionne Brand’s What We All Long For, the exhibition invites commuters and visitors alike to pause, wander, and reimagine what it means to be “in between” destinations.

“Union is a living threshold, public, plural, and always in motion,” says Joséphine Denis, Curator of A Kind of Order. “This exhibition meets audiences mid-journey, acknowledging limited time while offering space for imagination. The works read quickly, but resonate slowly, inviting people to get a little lost, and perhaps reoriented.”

“At Union, public art meets people where they are, often mid-journey,” says Syma Shah, Vice President and Executive Director of Programming at Toronto Union. “A Kind of Order embraces that reality, offering moments of reflection and imagination within the everyday rhythms of the station. This exhibition transforms movement into meaning and reminds us that even brief encounters with art can shift how we see ourselves and the city around us.”

“TD is proud to support spaces and exhibits that amplify Black artists and celebrate Black culture through accessible public art,” said Michael Armstrong, Vice President, North American Brand and Sponsorship at TD. “This exhibition invites visitors to pause and engage with new perspectives as part of their everyday journey.”

The Artists and Installations

Timothy Yanick Hunter, Cross Sections (West Wing): Cross Sections explores the subsurface as a space where extraction and circulation reshape relationships. Through layered images of soil, living organisms, and scientific fragments, the work presents knowledge as fragmented and constantly shifting. Hunter’s project questions what is considered a resource, who has the authority to name what lies beneath, and what resists ownership or total understanding.

Aaron Jones, Lazarus, Contained (Faćade Banners): Jone’s work is installed as seven vertical banners on Union Station’s façade, creating a continuous but interrupted visual narrative. The centrepiece—a glass tank set on a frozen shoreline and filled with drifting colours and suspended fish—blurs the line between reality and artifice, evoking a constructed ecology. Jones uses collage as a research method to reflect on memory, desire, and the emotional cost of moving through spaces not designed for us, with the tank symbolizing both shelter and display.

Hazelle Palmer, Selected Works (Lower-Level Storefront): Hazelle’s work investigates how everyday materials and imagery can be transformed to reveal hidden stories and layered histories. Through mixed media installations, she weaves together personal narrative, cultural memory, and found objects to create immersive environments. Her practice encourages viewers to reconsider the familiar and to discover new meanings within overlooked aspects of daily life.

Thato Toebo, Untitled (Oak Room): This installation uses sculptural collage to reorient our sense of place, drawing on memories of Thaba-Tseka in rural Lesotho and questioning the narratives imposed by international development. By cutting and reassembling images from public circulation, Toeba’s work disrupts the visual scripts of “need” and poverty, creating a dynamic field of figures that honour self-regard and connection. Mirrored panels and bare oak ground the composition, inviting viewers to become part of the work and prompting us to reconsider how value and context are assembled from where we stand.

The Visitor Experience

A Kind of Order is designed for immediate entry and slow release. Clear, accessible wall texts introduce each work, while deeper content is available through QR codes to digital platforms. The exhibition activates transitional walkways and concourses as sites for micro-journeys that echo the rhythms of commuting: disruption and rerouting, anticipation and routine, departure and return.

EXHIBITION DETAILS

Opening: February 12, 2026

Location: Toronto Union, West Wing, Oak Room, façade banners, and lower-level storefronts

Admission: Free

Hours: Daily during station operating hours

For more information, visit torontounion.ca

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