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Exhibitions page



Friday 8 August – Saturday 30 August

Tim Hetherington, UK, for Vanity Fair World Press Photo of the Year 2007 winner

The prestigious World Press Photo Exhibition attracted more than 18,700 visitors to the Scottish Parliament The exhibition returned to Holyrood after its success in the previous two years.

Many of the images in the exhibition sought to raise awareness of difficult and traumatic contemporary issues while others celebrate the achievements of humanity in sport and culture or capture the beauty and drama of the natural environment.

The exhibition featured the work of the prize-winning photojournalists of the World Press Photo competition. The overall winner this year was British photographer Tim Hetherington. His image of an exhausted American soldier resting in the Restrepo bunker in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, has been described as an image that ‘represents the exhaustion of a man – and the exhaustion of a nation’. (Gary Knight, Chairman of the 2008 World Press Photo jury). The valley was the epicentre of the US fight against militant Islam in Afghanistan, and scene of some of the deadliest combat in the region.

People who viewed the exhibition said…

"It is an extraordinary exhibition. Some of the images are so good you feel like you are there, they look alive. Some, especially those from areas of conflict, give you goosebumps when you look at them."
Naomi, Musselburgh  


"Some of the photos are very striking. You can really imagine what the people in them were going through. In some you get a real sense of people’s fear or sadness. They are very moving.”
Antony Coulber, Somerset


"It is an incredible collection of images. I have spent a long time looking at them all, reading about where they were taken and the stories behind the photos is fascinating. I go to see the exhibition every year in Belgium and could not resist coming to see it again while on holiday in Edinburgh. And they look great here."
Dorothea Vandenwyngaerden, Belgium

"I am very impressed with the photos. I spent a long time on the computer going through winners from previous years. There are some quite incredible pictures. The ones with children have really grabbed my attention. I think good photography does that, it really transports you to the very place where the image was taken."
Caro Van Lee Owen, Switzerland

"There is a huge variety of pictures, everything from wars to nature. There is a huge mix of images so it is difficult to pick a favourite, but I especially like the sports pictures. It must be difficult to capture athletes as they are moving but these photographers have done that."
Sebastien, France

Image Gallery

Watch interviews with some of the craftmakers featured in the exhibition.

The exhibition entitled ‘Cridhe na Gaidhealtachd – Craft in the Highlands’ ran from Thursday until Sunday 6 January and showcased highland crafts that have been developed as part of the programme to celebrate Highland 2007, the year Scotland celebrated Highland culture.

The exhibition displayed a range of crafts, which make use of traditional techniques and materials in innovative ways to produce items that express Highland culture today.

Cridhe na Gaidhealtachd – Craft in the Highlands was organised by the Highlands Council, Highland 2007 and the Scottish Parliament

Exhibition News Release

Making the Act of Union 1707

The 'Making the Act of Union 1707' exhibition ran at the Scottish Parliament until 18 November 2007.

The exhibition provided a unique opportunity to view the Scottish and English copies of the treaty, brought together for the first time since they were signed 300 years ago.

Visitors also viewed the "Exemplification of Union", an illuminated copy of the Act of Union gifted by Queen Anne to the Scottish Parliament in 1707. Information related to the exhibition is still available online via the links below.

Exhibition news release | Exhibition photo gallery

Audio and text

Hear an audio description of the exhibition (mp3)

Read the text of the display (pdf 70KB)

Parliament video

Watch an interview with the Lord Speaker, the Rt. Hon the Baroness Hayman

Lecture on the Act of Union by Professor Allan Macinnes of Strathclyde University

More about the history of the Scottish Parliament

You can read more about the Treaty of Union and other aspects of the history of the Scottish Parliament, in the History section of our website.

Making the Act of Union 1707 was a joint initiative between the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the National Archives of Scotland.

Reversible: 20 April - 6 May 2007

An exhibition showcasing the work of 12 Japanese art graduates studying in Scotland was on show at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh from Friday 20 April until 6 May.

See images in our photo gallery. Entitled ‘Reversible’, the exhibition was displayed at various locations around the building.

It was developed by the Japanese Consulate, Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh College of Art and the Scottish Parliament.

Read more in the news release or get information on visiting the Parliament.

Scots in Québec

From 16 March - 12 April 2007 the Parliament hosted an exhibition highlighting the achievements of Scottish settlers in Canada.

The free exhibition in the main hall looked at the influence of the first Scots settlers in Montreal and featured archive photographs from the McCord Museum of Canadian History.

It was developed by the Délégation générale du Québec in London.

See more in the news release.

Exhibition on women's suffrage

The women's suffrage movement in Scotland was the focus of an exhibition at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh from 15 December 2006 - 9 March 2007.

If I can’t vote, I don’t count looked at how women in Scotland gained support for their campaign for the vote, and the sense of achievement when the law was finally changed.

View photos of the exhibition and of an artwork celebrating women's contribution to furthering democracy.

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