This year’s festival will have an international flavour, encouraging you to look outward and be inspired to see the world differently.
Enjoy a lively selection of debate, film, music, food and exhibitions all within the uniquely vibrant and stimulating setting of Holyrood.
This year we are delighted to welcome many expert speakers and on the opening day of the Festival of Politics, guests have the opportunity to hear from acclaimed academic and author Sir Tom Devine. Sir Tom’s lecture on Scotland and Slavery is on Friday 14th August at 16:30 and will be followed by a screening of the film 12 Years a Slave and a short panel discussion.
Exhibitions
The Auld Acquaintance exhibition – Free
From the savagely satirical to the whimsical and contemplative, the international and home-grown cartoons exhibited in The Auld Acquaintance exhibition are united by the international language of humour.
Humour underpins the wide range of personal responses by press cartoonists across the globe to the question posed by the Scottish Cartoon Art Studio, which curated this provocative and entertaining exhibition: “Should Scotland be an independent country?”
Wildly funny caricatures, pithy editorial cartoons and cruel comic strips focus on everything from the leading politicians to the controversial topics that were debated not only across Scotland and the UK but also Europe and the wider world.
After touring Europe, The Auld Acquaintance fittingly returns to Scotland as part of the Festival of Politics.
Anti-Apartheid exhibition – FreeNelson Mandela
This unique exhibition of the history of the British Anti-Apartheid movement gives a fascinating insight into one of the most effective grassroots campaigns of the 20th century. This photograph of Nelson Mandela is from the Michael Peto Photographs: Politics in Focus exhibition at the Parliament.
Democratic Resonance
The sounds created by the different areas of the Scottish Parliament building and its inhabitants are brought together in this vibrant and intriguing soundscape. It includes material recorded by Zoë Irvine and Pippa Murphy during a residency in the Parliament, when they worked closely with people from across the organisation to explore sounds associated with parliamentary business, such as the ringing of the division bell that calls Members to the Chamber.
Michael Peto Photography: Politics in Focus
A powerful portrait of social, cultural and political life during the 1950s and 1960s will be on display as this specially curated exhibition of images by photographer Michael Peto comes to the Scottish Parliament.
Michael Peto Photgraph of a monk
Michel Peto Photography: Politics in Focus is an exhibition of portraits and photographs by Michael Peto, who captured many of the world’s leading political figures. Images of Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill and Tony Benn feature alongside images of political activists such as Ian McKellen and John Lennon.
Perfectly capturing the mood and feel of the time, this exhibition is open from Wednesday 22 July until Saturday 22 August.
The World Press Photo Exhibition
The acclaimed photography exhibition returns to the Scottish Parliament this summer. WPP photo of the year
More than 130 prize winning images which challenge and inspire us to see the world differently will be exhibited at the Scottish Parliament.
This includes the overall prize-winning image by Danish photographer Mads Nissen, an intimate portrait of Jon and Alex, a gay couple, in St Petersburg.
This thought-provoking exhibition will be open from Wednesday 22 July until Saturday 22 August.