The Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC) is deepening its exploration of the connections between the arts and human rights with this new online series. The series aims to advance critical conversations and collaborative research, and activities involving the arts and human rights.

The conversations were guided discussions among advocates, academics and artists. Participation was by invitation only.

With conversations across the disciplines of human rights law and the arts, aided by arts making and performance, these consultations explored the following themes:

Forging multidisciplinary alliances in the Plasticocene

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This session examined the problem of plastic pollution through a multidisciplinary lens, bringing together perspectives from artists, human rights advocates, ecologists, Western scientific approaches, and traditional knowledge holders.

Wednesday, FEBRUARY 4, 2026
12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. (EST)
Watch the consultation (in English on YouTube)

Affirming environmental human rights in the climate crisis

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This session explored, through the arts, the interconnected human rights and environmental dimensions of recent advisory opinions on the climate emergency issued by key international tribunals (ITLOS, ICJ, and IACHR).

Wednesday, MARCH 4, 2026
12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. (EST)

Watch the consultation (in English on YouTube)

Artists, artificial intelligence, and human rights

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This session investigated the positive and negative impacts of artificial intelligence on human creativity, and considered how emerging technologies are reshaping concepts of identity, community, place, and time.

Wednesday, APRIL 1, 2026
12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m. (EDT)

Watch the consultation (in English on YouTube)