These powerfully moving artworks, including works by Canadian artists, address the theme of Everyone’s Human Rights & Freedoms in the satirical, poignant, and acerbic manner that is unique to editorial and political cartoonists. At an opening event in the Senate of Canada, Senators reflected upon their professional engagements with the expressive form of political cartooning and our Charter. Contekst curator, Omid Milani, Ph.D., renowned Canadian cartoonist Guy Badeaux (better known as ‘Bado’), together with HRREC Director Professor John Packer were invited to draw on the relationship between artistic expression and human rights.
CONTEKST is an academic research project that explores the Image-Law relationship, in both theoretical and practical fields. This initiative partners with the University of Ottawa and other educational institutions around the world to shed light on human rights issues through an artistic lens. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982), Everyone’s Rights & Freedoms is a political cartoon competition exhibiting editorial cartoonists’ satirical views on manifestations and violations of everyone’s human rights and freedoms in various socio-political contexts.
