Solo complaining makes a whiner, but grumbling en masse creates a seemingly empathetic dialogue of annoyances for people to bond over. It was the latter that inspired The Bureau of Doing Something About It, a 12-day pop-up studio created by Bruce Mau Design (BMD)at the Propeller Centre for Visual Arts. Rather than searching for a hard surface to bang their heads against, the multidisciplinary design firm is trying to find creative solutions for Torontonians’ gripes.

One thousand complaints, each printed on bright yellow slips of paper, are pinned around the studio. They are categorized into issues including transportation (“I feel like I’ve waited half of my life for the College streetcar”), workplace environments (“My boss spies on me through the crack between the printers”) and overly personal conundrums (“Why can I never find the matching sock?”)—all of which were originally collected by the Toronto Complaints Choir.

Using “design and problem-solving methodologies” and the “quirky, often low-fi ways of BMD,” five designers are interacting with gallery-goers to brainstorm, research and prototype potential resolutions for the grievances. A book of their ideas is simultaneously being designed and will be distributed around the city upon completion.

Most peoples’ first reaction to the exhibit is to ask where they can add to the complaints; blame human nature and our impulse to add to the whiny din. “We’re not collecting anymore,” says BMD senior designer Amanda Happé. “That part is over. We’re trying to make this a space of solutions and positivity.”

“A lot of it comes down to the fact that we’re all so close together. It’s the urban condition of a big city; we’re jammed in here together. It’s either too hot, or too cold, you’re late, someone smells or someone didn’t hold the door for you. There is just this constant friction caused by the fact that we’re all in this together, like it or not.”

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