In this interview, Drishya Nair, the artist behind the Quirky Streets project, discusses the inspiration behind her work, the need for alternative solutions to walking space in Toronto, and the importance of engaging youth in city building and planning.
Tell me about yourself: your background, studies, interests and hobbies. What are you currently working on in your professional/student life right now?
I recently graduated from UofT with a Masters in Cities Engineering and Management. I am passionate about urban studies in general but my core interest lies in understanding the transport infrastructures of our cities. Currently I am working on a project that seeks to increase transportation options and improve equity in access to Bike Share Toronto through investigating opportunities for network expansion.
Talk me through the project you submitted for The Alternative Maps Project. What was the initial inspiration for this project? Does the neighbourhood/area that you explore in your work have personal significance for you, and if so, could you explain? Could you talk about your creative processes and why you chose the kind of artistic medium you did?
For the alternative Maps project, I choose ‘Tactical Urbanism’ as my theme. Tactical Urbanism is about building temporary pop ups on streets to curb any ongoing situation. And if successful, these solutions stay there permanently. I live very close to Kensington Market in Toronto and I visit this neighborhood on day to day basis to get my groceries and other household items. The primary attractions of these neighborhoods are the cute little cafés, clothing shops and Sunday markets. The streets are bustling with people most of the time, but in the past few months due to COVID-19, they have been silent. Therefore, I wanted to add some colours to the streets (in literal sense), to make them feel alive. My inspiration came from some of the globally-implemented solutions that were aimed at supporting small scale restaurants by attracting people in a safe way by creating guided paths. I used Illustrator for creating graphics of how I reimagined these streets.
What did you notice about the city of Toronto during the COVID closures in the Spring? What changes to public space did you observe? Which of these changes, for you, were positive? Which were negative?
During COVID closures, one thing I observed was how the city focused its attention towards active transportation. Many of the streets were dedicated to walking and cycling and I feel that this was a positive change.
What issues around the city of Toronto did the COVID crisis highlight for you? What were some of struggles you had with the changing circumstances of the Spring?
One of the difficulties I observed during COVID was inadequate walking space on streets to follow social distancing norms.
What should a post-COVID Toronto look like? What is the future of cities around the world at this time of crisis, brought about by not only the COVID pandemic, but also the climate crisis?
During the COVID era, cities across the world have gone through massive changes. In Toronto, some of the major streets have been converted into biking lanes and more and more arterial streets have been dedicate to pedestrians. While this curbs traffic, it also supports climate change with lesser emission of greenhouse gases. I hope to see more of such changes in the future.
What is the role of artists and creative thinkers in reimagining Toronto at this time?
I believe, that the present circumstance is an ideal platform for a lot of city nerds to bring in their bold ideas on how our neighborhood could look like. With streets being less populated, we could imagine various alternatives in of utilizing some of the spaces to their maximum potential.
Do you feel as if you have a genuine stake in the city of Toronto as a young person/student/artist? What would you change in the city to make you feel more engaged in the future of Toronto?
For sure, as young enthusiasts, I believe, we have that “youth energy” in us to make a difference. I hope students like me are provided with more such opportunities where we could collaborate with industry experts on various city building issues through term projects or co-ops to enhance our knowledge and industry experience to set a base for our future.