On display @ Summerhall, Edinburgh, Sat 6 Oct – Sat 24 Nov (11.00 – 18.00)

Small though this exhibition is, one thing it isn’t short of is acronyms. EDL, ANL, BNP, RAR, NF coat the posters, album covers, invitations, declarations and badges adorning the walls of the Summerhall. Taking the viewer from the mid-seventies to the present day, these passionate statements of defiance in the face of fascism are literally a graphic representation of the fight against a mindset that has so often appeared defeated but continues to raise its ugly head in society today.

As a trip through history the exhibition is fascinating, with the techniques and tools employed to rally people to the cause having changed dramatically, but also the clear spit and polish of modern campaigns is striking in comparison with the homemade quality of the seventies and eighties material. There’s little doubt that the earlier posters have more power, coming as they do from more openly turbulent times and the samizdat nature of the posters makes it easy to imagine them being run, ink still wet, to be hung on shop windows, youth clubs, student unions and lampposts.

One of the most interesting rooms is the one that deals with Edinburgh’s Anti Nazi fight. With the focus in most peoples mind on London or the West Midlands as the heartlands of the fight against the National Front and the BNP, it’s easy to forget that groups all across the country were standing up against racism. The faded photocopied papers and collaged images remind you that even this staid old city was a battleground in the politics of race.

The publicity might have got slicker and more professional – with the Rock Against Racism posters looking glossier and printed on shinier paper, but the message has remained constant, that in order for evil to exist it is only necessary that good people do nothing. With the rise again of right-wing organisations – the BNP getting council seats and the EDL/SDL being allowed to march in city centres – this exhibition is a timely reminder that the fight has gone on for a long time and the fight continues.