Drawn

Here’s a video (yes, I’m making you click thru for a good reason) about the importance of caricature and political cartoons, in relation to a petition for better public recognition in the form of awards just like our fellow artists get.

I have been publicly critical for some time about Canada Council’s structure and dated policy, which excludes “commercial artists” (never adequately defined) from support. Illustrators of all stripes are prevented from applying for the art funding, with the exception of graphic novelists under Literature, and that’s a recent change that doesn’t go far enough. In my opinion, the lack of research & development opportunities perpetuates the very aspects of “commercial art” that the policy-makers disliked some half-century ago when they put this policy in place: reliance on safe, market-driven, or American precedents.

Now, Canada’s political cartoonists have mobilized to make change and get the recognition as a serious art form and social force that they deserve. Sign the petition, and make all the arts equal.