Territorians love a bit of political satire. And 2015 was an exceptional year for the nation's cartoonists to poke fun at politicians. Eating onions, helicopters and a leadership spill. But the year also highlighted the dangers of political cartooning, as witnessed by the Charlie Hebdo attacks on 7 January 2015.

 

From the halls of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, this exhibition celebrated the role of satire and political cartoonists in Australia and highlighted the power that their drawings have in contributing to our daily political and social discourse.  

 

With a selection of 80 of the best cartoons from 39 cartoonists, the exhibition displayed some of Australia’s most controversial cartoons that test the boundaries of free speech and the freedom of the press. And in a break from tradition the exhibition did not just celebrate one ‘Cartoonist of the Year’, but celebrated the community of political cartoonists in Australia, in memory of the tragedy at Charlie Hebdo.

 

Behind the Lines 2015, was a travelling exhibition from the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, proudly supported by the National Collection Institutions Touring and Outreach program.