A cross-section of the entertaining and educational work of political cartoonist Mike Graston is the subject of an exhibition opening Wednesday in the SoCA Gallery.
The work of editorial cartoonist Mike Graston is the subject of a public exhibition in the SoCA Gallery opening Wednesday, Nov. 16.
Graston, whose regular contributions to the editorial pages of the Windsor Star newspaper spanned three and a half decades before his retirement in 2016, presented a unique look at local, provincial, national, and international events and the individuals who shaped them. He donated a collection of more than 2,600 political cartoons to the Archives and Special Collections housed in Leddy Library.
University archivist Sarah Glassford says access to the collection will support teaching and research, ensuring the work will have an impact for years to come.
“Editorial cartoons like these manage to say a lot in a single panel,” she says. “As a distilled form of political and social commentary, they offer valuable insights into how contemporaries understood history as it was unfolding.”
The exhibition, Mike Graston’s Editorial Cartoons, 1981-2016: History as it Happened, showcases images selected by the artist as aesthetically successful, emotionally resonant, and enduringly funny.
It is open to the public in the School of Creative Arts Armouries building, 37 University Ave. East, through Nov. 27:
- Wednesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and
- by appointment only on Monday and Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To make a viewing appointment, contact gallery and building co-ordinator Victor Romao at romao1@uwindsor.ca.
The gallery will also host exhibitions of works by visual arts students: fourth-year students Nov. 28 to Dec 2, and second-year students Dec. 5 to 9. Both are open to the public by appointment only during regular hours of operation, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.