Help Shape the Future of Public Art at the Peterborough Transit Terminal

Peterborough, ON – A new public art installation is coming to the Peterborough Transit Terminal, 190 Simcoe St., and residents are invited to help decide on the final design selection.   

The installation includes vinyl murals that will be placed on the downtown terminal’s columns and exterior. The artwork will enhance the visual character of the terminal while improving wayfinding, highlighting entrances and pathways and improving accessibility and safety. After a competitive selection process guided by the City of Peterborough’s Public Art Policy, three artist teams have been shortlisted for the project:  

• BAU & ĆOS Studio (Andres Ulises Bautista & Novka Ćosović)  

• Casandra Lee, Joshua Morley and Sahira Said Jiddawy  

• Jerry Rugg (birdO) 

Each team has prepared a video presentation outlining their concept for the Transit Terminal.   

Residents are invited to review the proposed concepts and choose the design that they feel best reflects the city’s identity, creativity and sense of place at connectptbo.ca/simcoetransitart. 

Voting is open until 5 p.m. on Monday, May 25, 2026.  

This public vote will count as one vote in the overall decision. The Public Art Jury will evaluate each project alongside community input, and the Arts and Culture Advisory Committee will endorse the final selection.  

The winning design will be installed at the Peterborough Transit Terminal in early September 2026. 

This project is funded through a combination of municipal investment and support from the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), as part of the broader Simcoe Street Transit Terminal rehabilitation project. 

For more information on the City’s public art projects, including the 2026 Public Art Jury and our policy, visit peterborough.ca/publicart. 

About the shortlisted artists 

BAU AND ĆOS Studio is a Greater Toronto Area based art and architecture firm founded by Andres Ulises Bautista and Novka Ćosović. As a team of two with different backgrounds that are from distant parts of the world, they lean on their extensive travels and diverse cultural experience to create contextual public art works. Their work is very versatile. The team has been commissioned to design projects for City of Mississauga, City of Burlington, Nuit Blanche, and Pride Week. As artists, their goal is to engage the public in a manner that is meaningful and respectful while constructing a sense of wonder.   

Joshua Morley, Sahira Said Jiddawy and Casandra Lee bring complementary strengths in public art, design, and community engagement. Joshua has led large-scale murals such as The Hug, a 600 ft² mural in downtown Peterborough, and Maamawi, a vinyl installation for a community centre in Sault Ste. Marie. Sahira creates cohesive visual systems across digital and print, with work for organizations such as Community Fridge Canada and Absynthe Magazine. Casandra creates both digital and traditional public artworks, including installations for Renaissance on Hunter and Erring at King George. Together, they create site-responsive work rooted in accessibility, storytelling, and community connection. 

Jerry Rugg, aka birdO, is a multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. While his surreal geometric animals can be found on canvas, in digital print, and installation, birdO is primarily known for his large-scale mural work on walls and buildings around the world. Jerry’s long passion for the arts, his storied experience working in film, and the skills acquired as an award-winning graphic designer, have all contributed to his approach, which focuses on an acute awareness of the surface and studious preparation with regard to local culture and surroundings.