The HARD RAIN exhibition was launched at the Eden Project in Cornwall in May 2006. The first photo reportage exhibition to be presented on a giant 50-metre canvas, HARD RAIN has seen by over 10 million people at over 30 venues, and continues to tour the planet.

HARD RAIN is currently on display at Chester Zoo in England, the University of St Thomas in Minnesota, USA and the UN Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland. See below for details.

(alphabetical by country)

AUSTRALIA
Canberra International Arboretum and Gardens
14 to 29 March 2009
Mark Edwards presents the Hard Rain slideshow at the Australian National University, Canberra on Monday 16 March
details to follow

ENGLAND
Chester Zoo, Upton, Cheshire
22 April 2008 (Earth Day) to April 2009

IRELAND
John F. Kennedy Arboretum, Co. Wexford
Dates TBC

SOUTH AFRICA
Two Oceans Aquarium, Dock Road, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
Dates TBC

United Nations Building, New York
5 May to 26 June 2008
Sponsored by Still Pictures, the United Nations Environment Programme and Network for Social Change
In association with Columbia Records

An outstanding example of passionate commitment to remake our world, Hard Rain is a call to action that has already moved millions of people throughout the world, pushing them to confront a harsh reality, but also awakening their desire to react to the devastation of the planet.
Eric Falt, Director, Outreach Division, UN Department of Public Information

The hard reality is that the hard rain of environmental destruction continues to fall and global efforts are not anywhere near what is required, dramatically required, at this point. And political will is still very much in short supply.
Olav Kjorven, Director for Development Policy, UNDP

Hard Rain shows that art, in whatever medium, can play a critical role in promoting thought and generating dialogue.
Jaunita Castaño, Director, UNEP Office in New York

National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin
1 May to 31 August 2008
Opened by Noel Ahern, TD and Gardens Director Peter Wyse Jackson

A Serpent in Eden

So why is Hard Rain so stunning and so moving, and why does it feel so right? Part of the answer, of course, lies in the quality of the visual images, mostly by Edwards himself, but also by Sebastião Salgado, Chris Steele-Perkins and other photographers. But the thematic bundling of these images with Dylan’s song could still seem gauche or exploitative were it not for two factors.

The most important of these is the sheer brilliance of the dialogue Edwards has created between the words and the images, the way they synthesise into some third form that combines the stillness of a picture with the urgency of a ballad. Edwards's conjunctions are so carefully and thoughtfully constructed that they enforce on the viewer a kind of tact that wards off mere voyeurism.

The other factor that allows Edwards to escape the dangers of depoliticising his images is his deliberate creation of a specific context for them. The exhibition is aimed quite deliberately at botanical gardens and arboretums, in which it is being shown around the world. The choice is not whimsical. The lushness and abundance of the gardens, with their collections of plants from the far-off tropics, makes Hard Rain a serpent in Eden, albeit one which comes to tempt us with the truth. Amidst these figments of the natural world, the exhibition plays out its own subtitle: Our Headlong Collision with Nature.
Fintan O'Toole, Irish Times

In this extraordinarily powerful show – moving, delicate, cryptic, violent by turns – Edwards and Dylan remind us of how much is at stake.
Gerry McCarthy, Sunday Times

I saw the exhibition today in the beautiful setting of the Botanic Gardens in Dublin. I had read a review of it and knew what to expect, but the emotional impact of viewing the images while the words of the song played in my head was nearly overwhelming, and as I wandered through the gardens afterwards, I couldn't help but wonder how few future generations would enjoy them, unless we change the way we live now.
Catherine McGuckin, Dublin, Ireland

The HARD RAIN exhibition was launched at the Eden Project in Cornwall on 24 May 2006 – Bob Dylan's 65th birthday. It remained on display until March 2007, where it was seen by a million visitors.

Visit the Eden Project.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, AUSTRALIA
3 January to 30 March 2008

Kings Park and Botanic Garden, Perth, AUSTRALIA
1 to 30 September 2008

Centre for World Cultures (Zuiderpershuis), Antwerp, BELGIUM
11 April to 10 May 2008

National Botanic Garden, Miese, BELGIUM
1 October to 31 December 2007

University of Oxford Botanic Garden, ENGLAND
1 to 30 October 2007

Greenbelt Festival, Cheltenham Racecourse, ENGLAND
22 to 25 August 2008

University of Oxford Harcourt Arboretum, Nuneham Courtenay, Oxfordshire, ENGLAND
1 to 30 September 2008

University of Exeter, ENGLAND
19 October to 19 November 2008

University of Helsinki Botanic Garden, Kaisaniemi, FINLAND
8 September to 14 October 2007

Sustain Festival, Bantry, IRELAND
24 to 27 August 2007

Electric Picnic Festival, Dublin, IRELAND
31 August to 2 September 2007

National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, IRELAND
1 May to 31 August 2008

Kilmacurragh Arboretum, Co. Wicklow, IRELAND
21 September to 1 December 2008

Vilnius University Botanical Garden, LITHUANIA
29 September to 30 October 2007
supported by the British Council

Hard Rain Picture Show in Vilnius, LITHUANIA
Wednesday 27 February 2008

Hard Rain presentation by Mark Edwards, hosted by the UK Ambassador, to Lithuanian opinion-formers, including representatives of the Lithuanian creative community, to stimulate their involvement and capture public attention. The aim of the event was to raise awareness of climate change issues and sustainable development both in Lithuania and globally, and highlight the role Lithuanians can play in seeking solutions to global challenges.

Siauliai University Botanic Garden, LITHUANIA
15 August to 15 September 2008

WWT Castle Espie, County Down, NORTHERN IRELAND
3 August 2007 to 7 January 2008

Bymuseet, Bergen, NORWAY
15 February to 31 May 2008

Museum of Archaeology Stavanger, NORWAY
12 September to 15 November 2007.

Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology, Oslo, NORWAY
21 August to 23 November 2008

Plac Wolnosci (Wolnosci Square), Poznan, POLAND
14 October to 8 November 2008

UN Climate Change Conference, Poznan International Fair, POLAND
1 to 12 December 2008

WWT Caerlaverock, Dumfriesshire, SCOTLAND
1 to 28 July 2007

Royal Botanical Garden, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
7 August 2007 to 3 February 2008

Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
5 June to 15 September 2008
In association with Edinburgh City Council

I came across the exhibition on a sunny day while out with my children in Edinburgh and was profoundly moved and dismayed by the images and text. The power of this exhibition in the setting of Princes Street Gardens was intense and made me feel both insignificant and empowered. I did not share these images with my children who were happily playing but it is they and future generations that should compel all of us to act, however insignificant we may feel.
Shian Randall, Scotland

Logan Botanic Garden, Port Logan, Dumfries & Galloway, SCOTLAND
28 June to 28 September 2008

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
3 January to 30 March 2008

Pretoria National Botanical Garden, SOUTH AFRICA
8 May to 30 July 2008

I saw the exhibition on holiday in Cape Town in Kirstenbosch. Environmental issues in South Africa take a back seat, because we have seemingly more pressing issues like HIV, crime and poverty.

Due to this, I have also been very slack environmentally. Since I purchased the copy of the book I have committed myself to recycling properly, we are trying to grow some of our own produce, and I have replaced the light bulbs. Small start, I know, but we all have to start somewhere.

I did not find the book that grim due to the daily problems we face in Africa, but I do not hold much hope out for us changing the way we think in relation to national identities, boundaries, and the way we see "progress". However we can try, and that is what I intend to do.

Well done on a concise, informative, visual book.
Chris Salmon, Durban

Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Johannesburg, SOUTH AFRICA
5 August to 2 November 2008

Jardí Botànic de la Universitat de València, SPAIN
21 February to 6 April 2008

Jardin Botanico Atlantico, Gijon, SPAIN
25 October to 9 December 2007

Real Jardin Botanico, Madrid, SPAIN
18 September to 21 October 2007

Malmö Museer, Malmö, SWEDEN
15 September to 20 January 2008

Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm, SWEDEN
23 March to 15 June 2007

Museum of World Culture, Gothenburg, SWEDEN
20 June to 15 October 2007

The Tällberg Forum, Leksands Museum, Leksand, SWEDEN
22 June to 22 July 2007

Emåns Ekomuseum, Bodafors, SWEDEN
23 June to 27 September 2008

Stortorget, Örebro, SWEDEN
12 September to 12 October 2008

United Nations Building, New York, USA
5 May to 15 June 2008
Sponsored by Still Pictures and the United Nations Environment Programme, in association with Columbia Records

University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
17 October to 15 December 2008

Hay Festival, WALES
Sunday 25 May 2008

The Hard Rain Picture Show was presented by Mark Edwards at The Guardian Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye, on Sunday 25 May 2008.