We put out the invitation for the public to submit stories, portraits and ideas about their experience of the last year. These personal stories formed the core of the display.

These submissions from members of the public are shown alongside five striking examples of portraiture from the national collection. The five works are: two bronze busts of influential women: Scots Makar (the national poet for Scotland) Jackie Kay and the pioneering Dr Elsie Inglis; a photograph and display of work prints by Iain Stewart from his series, Tender, for which he shadowed two Edinburgh GPs; Man Up a video work featuring Mercury Prize-winning Edinburgh band Young Fathers and a new acquisition – a portrait of the international singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, painted by Samira Addo, winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018.