Like brethren wi’ a common cause,
We’d on each other smile, man;
And equal rights and equal laws
Wad gladden every isle, man.

Discover the political poetry of Robert Burns with Pith & Power, a brand new exhibition launching at the Saltire Society in Edinburgh on 25 January 2018. 

Burns was a humanitarian poet who wrote against oppression and injustice. Pith & Power aims to rediscover the profound meaning behind Burns’ poetry, examine his relationship with power and celebrate his ongoing influence in the Scottish imagination.

Exhibition open 25 January – 15 March, Mon – Thurs, 12pm – 4pm, and the first two Saturdays (27 Jan and 3 Feb, 12pm – 4pm). Free entry.

Launch event: Join us at 7pm on Burns Night, 25 January 2018 for the launch of Pith & Power. Reserve free tickets by calling 0131 556 1836 or emailing saltire@saltiresociety.org.uk

Find the Saltire Society at 9 Fountain Close, Edinburgh. Enter via Tweedale Court or Fountain Close opposite Scottish Storytelling Centre. 

It was a pleasure to unveil one of my drawings as a wall mural in Joanna Cherry MP’s constituency office. The mural depicts an Edinburgh skyline with Calton Hill in the foreground. A closer look reveals figures with banners marching and assembling on Calton Hill, a nod to the hill’s special place in political history as the site where devolution campaigners first held their Vigil for a Scottish Parliament, and where the new parliament was originally to be situated. In 2013 an unprecedented rally was also held in favour of Scottish independence. The drawing first appeared as a double-page illustration in my book, Summer of Independence: Stories from a Nation in the Making, a grassroots account of the run-up to the 2014 referendum. It’s great to see the picture come off the page and given new life on a more generous scale.

The mural appears as a background in a short feature on LGBT MPs on BBC One’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, 31/08/17. 

Please join me for the launch of ‘Freedom Come All Ye’, a new art exhibition exploring ideas of nationhood and determination. The exhibition launch will take place on Saturday 8th April from 2-3pm, Free Space Gallery, 7 Easter Road, Edinburgh. I will also be signing copies of my book, ‘Summer of Independence’. Prints of some artworks will also be available.

The exhibition will be available to view at Free Space Gallery until Sunday 30 April. Opening times: Wednesday – Saturday, 11am – 6pm.