Paul Ramírez Jonas is bringing Public Trust to Toronto for its Canadian premiere. The participatory artwork asks a simple question with a slightly uncomfortable follow-up: what are you willing to promise, then actually keep?

The Bentway will host the final stop from October 1 to 4 at 250 Fort York Blvd, from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day. During Nuit Blanche, the hours extend from 1:00 p.m. on October 3 until 7:00 a.m. on October 4.

This is not a campaign rally. Nobody is asking who you support. No party or candidate gets promoted. The work asks what you are willing to commit to. That is the whole premise.

A visitor makes a promise to themselves, another person or the city. That promise becomes a unique drawing the participant can keep. The commitment also gets added anonymously to a large-scale public marquee alongside promises gathered daily from headline news: politicians, scientists, economists, corporations, weather forecasters.

Thousands of individual promises become a collective portrait of Toronto.

The work opened September 15, the International Day of Democracy, at Toronto Public Library’s Fort York branch. It then travelled to Marina Quay West, Harbourfront Centre, then The Bentway.

The full Toronto run is:

• September 15: Toronto Public Library, Fort York branch, 190 Fort York Blvd, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Artist talk at 6:00 p.m.
• September 17 to 20: Marina Quay West, 539 Queens Quay W: September 17 and 20 from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; September 18 and 19 from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• September 24 to 27: Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W, 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• October 1 to 4: The Bentway, 250 Fort York Blvd, 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., with overnight Nuit Blanche hours.

Scheduling, hours and location details can change. Confirm current information with The Bentway at thebentway.ca before travelling.

Show up, say something, and stand behind it.

This made me think about timing.

Public Trust arrives ahead of Toronto’s municipal election, during a period of political polarization, cross-border tension and uncertainty for Canadian artists and cultural organizations navigating renewed U.S. tariffs. Many institutions are assessing risk, funding pressure and international relationships.

This artwork moves in the opposite direction.

It does not pull away from the public. It asks people to gather, speak, listen and leave a mark. Not a vague “let’s connect” moment. A specific promise. Written down. Displayed in public. Girl, be serious.

Ramírez Jonas puts the question plainly:

“We live in a moment when our agreements, our treaties, our alliances – what we thought was guaranteed – seems less than enduring. While we feel this uncertainty at a societal, national and international level, how do we feel about our word? Is it still good? Are we still able to keep our promises? Do we trust others to be true to their word? I still do.”

That last sentence carries weight. I still do.

Anna Gallagher-Ross, Director of Programming at The Bentway, describes the project this way:

“At a time when trust can feel fragile, Public Trust invites reflection on our role in civic life and the idea that we are not only inhabitants of our city, but also authors of its future.”

Here is the BCC observation: this is a rare public artwork where the audience is not asked to consume something. You are asked to produce something. A sentence. A commitment. A drawing.

That is a stronger ask than most campaigns make of anyone.

Creators should pay attention to the mechanics.

The artwork is built on participation, not reach. Every visitor contributes. That is the same thing your community does when people reply to a newsletter, send a voice note, attend a screening or share their own story. The difference is that Public Trust makes the contribution visible on a marquee.

Your community is not a number. It is a collection of people making choices about whether to return, respond, recommend your work or trust you with their time.

Promises are also a form of contract.

Creators make promises constantly:

• A posting schedule.
• A delivery date.
• A licensing term.
• A sponsored-content requirement.
• A podcast release.
• A partnership commitment.

The artwork makes public what many creators keep vague privately. What did you say you would do? Who did you say it to? What happens if you do not follow through?

No, this is not a request to turn your entire life into public accountability theatre. Please rest.

It is a reminder to make your commitments clear. Read the contract. Confirm the deadline. Put the deliverables in writing.

The prompts also work as content without reducing the artwork to content fodder. Ask:

• What would you promise?
• To whom?
• What would it take to keep it?
• What promise have you avoided because the answer would require action?

That can become a short video, carousel, newsletter question or podcast segment. Use the prompt to start a real conversation. Do not mine strangers’ commitments for engagement bait. There is a difference.

Participants make promises anonymously. They are encouraged to take a selfie with their promise once it appears on the marquee, then share it. That matters because sharing is part of the artwork’s design. It is not content theft disguised as community engagement.

The Toronto presentation is also shaped by local artists, volunteers and community members who facilitate conversations and record promises. That makes this version specific to this city.

Black Canadian creators and community members should be among the people shaping how this work lands here. Not only standing nearby as an audience. Not only appearing in the recap carousel after the fact. Shaping the conversations. Facilitating participation. Asking whose promises get heard, whose commitments get recorded and what trust requires across Toronto’s communities.

Go make a promise.

See what comes out when a stranger might read it. Make it small enough to keep. Make it honest enough to matter.

Then take one promise you have been avoiding in your own work and treat it like it went on the marquee.

Maybe it is the rate you have not raised. The contract you have not read. The schedule you keep breaking. The follow-up email you keep postponing. The credit you have not requested. The project you keep calling “almost ready” because finishing it would mean showing people what you actually made.

What would you write?

Public Trust ends October 4. The point of it does not. Go say something. Then stand behind it.

Watch the Public Trust documentary on Vimeo before you visit.

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Sources & References

• The Bentway press release for Public Trust, supplied by DMPUBLIC
• The Bentway
• Public Trust documentary on Vimeo
• Press images supplied by DMPUBLIC for editorial coverage. Public Trust, Paul Ramírez Jonas, 2016, commissioned by Boston Public Art Triennial. Birmingham Festival 2023 photograph © Lensi Photography.
• Scheduling, hours and location details can change. Readers should confirm current details with The Bentway before travelling.