Art and design students aged 14 and 15 from Firrhill High School have made 72 Holocaust Memorial Lanterns to mark Holocaust Memorial Day this year.

The lanterns will be on display at The Scottish Parliament for a week to coincide with an event being held there on 25 January.

The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Ken Macintosh MSP, who sponsored the exhibition, said: “While this is a dark period of modern history, the lantern exhibition at the Scottish Parliament is a symbol of hope for future generations, as well as reminding us of the need for tolerance and peace in modern society.

“Our lanterns will be shining brightly for all Parliamentarians to see this Holocaust Memorial Day, and I would like to thank Firrhill High School students for creating this powerful piece of art.”

The students used wax, acetate, collage, layering and simple stitch techniques to produce the memorial collages to celebrate the lives of the victims of the Holocaust and their families.

The 72 lanterns represent the 72 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp last year when they were made.

Olivia Marks-Woldman, chief executive of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, said: “We commend Firrhill High School for involving so many students in this wonderful, creative and powerful project to remember the past.

“The Scottish Parliament is a fitting home for these beautiful lanterns, and we know they will inspire our Scottish leaders to mark Holocaust Memorial Day and play their part in learning from the past and creating a safer, better future.”

The Scottish Parliament will host a Holocaust Memorial Day 2018 event on 25 January for 170 MSPs and guests, who will hear from Rudi Oppenheimer BEM, a survivor speaker.

 

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