Kitchener artist says their GRT Pride bus wrap was scrapped due to design disagreements

Logan Soeder has been hard at work since April on a special project for Grand River Transit (GRT).

The Kitchener artist was chosen to design a bus wrap for Pride Month, an opportunity GRT has been offering local creatives since 2022.

“I think it was yesterday that it was supposed to be wrapped and it’s not happening now,” said Soeder, in an interview with CTV News on Thursday.

The queer artist said the design is an ode to a friend that died last year who was part of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Artist Logan Soeder says Grand River Transit scrapped their design for this year’s Pride bus. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News)

Soeder also drew inspiration from communities at the heart of global conflicts.

“I have some Palestinian friends and I gave them some feedback as to what I was planning,” they said.

But those friends will never see the finished product.

“[GRT] told me plain and simple that I couldn’t have a Palestinian activist on there, which, it’s not entirely surprising and I couldn’t have the Land Back theming on there. And if I went in there and erased all of it, it’s just erasing the story that I want to be able to share with everybody,” they explained.

Artist Logan Soeder says Grand River Transit scrapped their design for this year’s Pride bus. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV Kitchener)

Soeder said, given the little artistic direction originally provided by GRT, the decision to scrap the design was unexpected.

But the artist isn’t willing to remove those key elements.

“I said I want to stand with my friends, my community, and I want to stand for Indigenous people,” Soeder said.

CTV News reached out to GRT for some clarity on the situation, but those questions weren’t answered.

A spokesperson for the transit service said, in part: “Grand River Transit is committed to rolling out a Pride bus later in June, which will run through Waterloo Region all summer.”

Artist Logan Soeder says Grand River Transit scrapped their design for this year’s Pride bus. (Spencer Turcotte/CTV News)

Despite the disagreement, Soeder said they will still be paid for the completed work.

On GRT’s website, it indicated the chosen artist would be given $3,000 for the design.

“The money is great, obviously. But I have a story to tell too, right?” Soeder said.

While the transit service didn’t say what design will replace Soeder’s, from the artist’s understanding, a design from a previous year will be used instead.

Soeder feels reverting to a previous design, or focusing on a rainbow theme, is performative.

“If they really did care about us they would be listening to our stories and be willing to fully let us express what we want to. It’s our stories and you can’t erase somebody’s experiences.”