Protest placards made by children, political artwork and a giant hopscotch are among the highlights of a new exhibition inspired by first-hand experiences of childhood.
The Child Human Rights Defenders from Scotland's Children's Parliament, pictured with the protest placards they created with artist Bob and Roberta Smith.
Opening on Tuesday 28 October, 'The Children are Now' brings together leading international artists and members of Scotland's Children’s Parliament to explore what it means to see children as agents for change.
Through artworks including films, sculptures and installations, the exhibition reveals how children’s perspectives can reshape our understanding of freedom, care and collective responsibility.
At the heart of exhibition is a series of works and new collaborations by acclaimed UK artist Bob and Roberta Smith.
Three of the Children's Parliament 'Child Human Rights Defenders' with their protest placards pictured at Edinburgh College of Art.
Smith has worked with the ‘Child Human Rights Defenders’, a group of 12 from the Children’s Parliament, an organisation dedicated to the realisation of children’s human rights in Scotland.
Supporting children aged between 10 and 14, Smith spent a weekend working with the group at Edinburgh College of Art, helping them to express ideas about issues affecting their peers across Scotland by creating new artworks.
Their pieces take the form of protest placards and address topical issues including the climate crisis, mental health, bullying and vaping.
We know from working alongside children the power of their ideas and the creative ways in which they express them. Our Members of Children’s Parliament are clear and unequivocal in their demand to be heard and recognised as rights-holders in society. Children are here and now, not only in ‘The Future’.
Dr Louise Hill
Director of Children’s Parliament
Artist Bob and Roberta Smith pictured with his updated work 'Letter to Michael Gove', now re-addressed to the current UK Labour Government.
The exhibition also includes five of Smith’s distinctive sign-painted slogans, alongside his celebrated political provocation, 'Letter to Michael Gove' (2011).
This giant open letter, painted on timber measuring 2.4m by 2.4m, argued for the importance of young people having the opportunity to pursue creative education, and directly criticised former UK Education Secretary, Michael Gove.
Declining opportunities for secondary pupils across creative subjects remain an issue which Smith continues to champion.
He has re-imagined 'Letter to Michael Gove' especially for this exhibition, updating the piece to reflect his current stance on the issue and 're-addressing' the work to the current UK Labour Government.
Children have a special power with art, which comes from the fact that their art is a pure, unaffected truth driven by a sense of discovery and justice. I have worked with the amazing Child Human Rights Defenders to help them create placards that highlight three issues that concern each one of them. It has been an eye-opening experience and they have created really powerful stuff.
Bob and Roberta Smith
Artist
Australian artist Mai Nguyễn-Long pictured with a series of glazed, ceramic works from her celebrated Vomit Girl project.
The exhibition also features a diverse collection of artworks by leading international artists exploring the play, power and politics of childhood.
Reinterpreting traditional children’s games from around the world and inspired by their origins in folk stories, Adéla Součková has created giant hopscotch boards on the floor of the gallery that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages.
Mai Nguyễn-Long presents new glazed works from her celebrated Vomit Girl project, creating a new mythology inspired by her Vietnamese heritage that celebrates and channels experiences from her childhood.
Monster Chetwynd’s sculptural installation Hell Mouth 5 opens a fantastical portal between mischief and myth, inviting audiences to pass through a giant gateway shaped like an opening mouth.
We’re challenging audiences to reconsider how we engage with children and being able to collaborate with children from across Scotland was a vital part of the process. We're also channeling these ideas through the work of international artists, showing us childhood in different geo-political contexts.
James Clegg
Talbot Rice Gallery Curator
Czech artist Adéla Součková has created giant hopscotch boards on the floor of the Talbot Rice Gallery that can be enjoyed by visitors of all ages.
Francis Alÿs’s celebrated film Reel-Unreel (2011) follows children running through the streets of Kabul, rolling film canisters as toys while unspooling the history that has shaped their own lives.
Ane Hjort Guttu’s films Freedom Requires Free People (2011) and Conversation (2021) trace a child’s growing awareness of freedom and authority.
A new commission by Kemang Wa Lehulere, Black Beauty (after Anna Sewell) (2025) reflects on the banning of children’s literature under the apartheid regime in South Africa, using materials sourced from classrooms and libraries.
Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s film The Boat People (2020) reimagines displacement and migration in a future dystopia where five children are the sole survivors of a destroyed world.
By the time people leave the exhibition, we want them to think about who children are and what a difference children are making. We want people to respect what we as children think, as much as what others think.
