Art for Rights exhibition inaugurated at Parliament to mark 30 years of the Ombudsman’s Office
Published October 23, 2025
Art for Rights exhibition inaugurated at Parliament to mark 30 years of the Ombudsman’s Office
Published October 23, 2025
The Office of the Ombudsman marked its 30th Anniversary with the inauguration of the Art for Rights exhibition, held in the House of Representatives in Valletta.
Organised in collaboration with the Institute for the Creative Arts at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST), the exhibition features works by eighteen Fine Arts students who explored human rights themes through painting. The event was attended by the students, their families, guests, and foreign delegates participating in the International Ombudsman Conference hosted in Malta.
The exhibition was inaugurated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Hon. Anglu Farrugia, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman, Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon.
In his address, Judge Zammit McKeon described Art for Rights as an initiative that celebrates both the Office’s legacy and its continuing commitment to good governance and human dignity. He said that visual art provides a platform for young people to engage meaningfully with social issues and human rights, encouraging reflection and dialogue.
“We are here to bear witness to the determination of eighteen students in favour of the promotion and observance of freedom and justice,” the Ombudsman said. “No themes were off-limits. The students were free to interpret human rights in their own way and encouraged to be expressive in their work. Rights are not abstract concepts for lawyers or politicians alone, but living values that young citizens should uphold.”
Judge Zammit McKeon thanked the Principal and lecturers of the MCAST Institute for Creative Arts for their guidance and encouragement, and the students for their commitment and courage in addressing challenging subjects through their art.
The Speaker of the House, the Hon. Anglu Farrugia, welcomed the exhibition as part of the official commemoration of the Ombudsman’s 30th Anniversary. He described the event as a moment of reflection and renewal, coinciding with the opening of the International Ombudsman Conference.
“These exhibits are not mere decoration — they are interpretation,” Speaker Farrugia said. “They remind us that the Ombudsman’s mission, like art itself, is to translate the unseen into the visible, to make heard what is often left unspoken. Their paintings do not merely adorn these halls — they give them voice.”
The Speaker highlighted the vital role of the Ombudsman as “an institutional conscience” that stands between citizen and State, ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability. He emphasised that the defence of rights depends on all institutions—Parliament, government, judiciary, media, and civil society—acting with integrity and courage.
The exhibition will remain open for public viewing in the foyer of Parliament until 3 November 2025.
