Sir Sean Connery becomes patron of the new Scottish National Photography Centre in Edinburgh

Sir Sean Connery has agreed to be patron of the new Scottish National Photography Centre in Edinburgh, reports the Edinburgh Evening News.

The James Bond star was signed up to front the planned project at the former Royal High School after hearing about it during a chat in Prague with a Scottish celebrity photographer.

The appointment of Edinburgh-born Sir Sean as patron - along with Carol Colburn Høgel, whose Dunard Fund is a major supporter of the arts in the Capital - is a huge coup for the backers of the centre.

The actor approached SNPC chiefs after an enthusiastic conversation with Penicuik-born New York-based photographer Albert Watson in the Czech capital earlier this year.

Sir Sean met with the centre’s backers while on a short visit to the Capital in August.

Today, Sir Sean said: "If any country can claim to have been involved at the birth of photography, it is Scotland.

"The proposal to have a Scottish National Photography Centre, just yards from the Rock House studio of Hill and Adamson which was the centre of the art in the 1840s, has my overwhelming support. I am delighted to become its patron."

The Scottish National Photography Centre is expected to be home to a gallery for exhibitions and provide education and conservation facilities.

The high school is owned by Edinburgh City Council, and city chiefs have given the project their blessing.

The complex will showcase the history of photography in Scotland, and be a centre of excellence for Scottish photography. Thousands of archived images will be displayed in public alongside the work of contemporary photographers.

It is also hoped it will house the National Photography Collection, currently at the National Portrait Gallery, although gallery bosses would still staff and monitor it.

Thanks to Scorpion for the alert.

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