Current and Forthcoming Exhibitions

Current and forthcoming exhibitions in the Main Library and online.

Forthcoming

Rooting: Ecology, Extraction & Environmental Emergency in the University’s Art Collections

24 January to 16 November 2025 

Main Library Exhibition Gallery, George Square Monday to Saturday, 10am-6pm

Taking the University’s 350-year-old Art Collection as its focus, the exhibition features historic and contemporary artworks that consider environment, ecology, as well as the entangled relationship between economic and colonial legacies and the climate crisis. The display showcases a range of artforms by over 30 different artists acquired by the University and currently used to support and enhance research and learning. As part of the institution’s cultural heritage, the artworks displayed in the exhibition will highlight University’s histories in relation to these topics, as well as offering reflections on the urgency for individual and collective action.

Rooting is being delivered in collaboration with the University’s Department for Social Responsibility and Sustainability (SRS) and will highlight ongoing activity across the University to create a more sustainable future through research, teaching, operations and people. 

A framed photographic artwork showing a caddisfly larvae.
Caddisfly Larvae (2024), Clarissa Gurd, Intaglio print made from Iron Oxide sourced from the River Esk on South Bank paper

Online Exhibitions

Discover online exhibitions from the Centre for Research Collections and the University community on our new exhibition platform. 

University of Edinburgh Online Exhibitions