Join us for a study day on faith for museum professionals organised by Birmingham Museums Trust and Bradford Museums Learning team in collaboration with the SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture and with support Arts Council England.

The day aims to offer practical advice and support for museum professionals to build their confidence and ability to work in this area. The day will focus on Islam and work with Muslim communities but within a broader interfaith context.

This is a practically-orientated development day. You will hear about best practice from leading professionals and then discuss with them key questions and challenges around writing text and planning learning sessions for your own institutions. There will also be an opportunity to discover how best to work with external groups from national experts and the option to join a tour of Birmingham’s Central Mosque.

Building on the ethos of the SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture, we strongly encourage both curatorial and learning or engagement staff from the same institution to attend together to gain maximum benefit from this day.

The study day is free to attend for those working in museums and lunch will be included. Bursaries are available, on a first come first served basis, for museum professionals. These are aimed to cover travel costs and, where necessary, an overnight stay. To access one of these bursaries, please send a short CV and statement (no more than one side of A4) outlining your reasons for participation to: islamicartnetwork@gmail.com

Programme

10.45 – 11am: Tea / Coffee and Registration

11am: Welcome and introduction to the day, Rebecca Bridgman – Chair of SSN for Islamic Art and Material Culture

11.10am – 12.30pm - APPROACHES TO INTERPRETATION

11.10 – 11.30am: Co-production in Birmingham’s Faith Gallery (incorporating gallery tour), Rebecca Bridgman, Curator of Middle East and South Asia, Lynsey Rutter, Community Engagement Team Leader Birmingham Museums & Mr Makhdoom Chishti, Birmingham Central Mosque

11.30-11.45am: ‘Imagining the Divine: Art and the Rise of World Religions (at the Ashmolean Museum)’ & ‘Those Who Follow’, Dr Dominic Dalglish, Worcester College, University of Oxford.

11.45 – 12pm: 'Spiritual journeys - exhibiting faith & religion (at the British Museum)', Stuart Frost, Head of Interpretation and Volunteers at the British Museum

12pm-12.30pm: Discussion

12.30PM – 1.15pm: LUNCH

1.15pm – 2.30pm: APPROACHES TO LEARNING

1.15 – 1.20pm: Introduction to session, Sofia Maskin, Bradford Museums & Committee Member, SSN Islamic Art & Material Culture

1.20 – 1.35: Practice at Birmingham Museums Trust, Sarah English, Learning Officer, Birmingham Museums

1.35- 1.50 pm: 'A Leap of Faith. Using Faith Collections for Learning', Sofia Maskin, Learning & Outreach Officer, Bradford Museums with Becky Smith & Ernest Lennon

1.50 – 2.05pm: Interfaith and museums - stereotypes and judgments? Harry Dunlop, Learning & Access Curator, St. Mungos Museum of Religious Life, Glasgow Life

2.05 – 2.45pm: Task – planning a session

2.45pm – 3pm: TEA & COFFEE BREAK

3pm – 4.20pm: WORKING WITH EXTERNAL ORGANISATIONS – how can we support each other?

3pm – 3.05pm: Introduction to session, Lynsey Rutter, Community Engagement Team Leader, Birmingham Museums

3.05pm – 3.25pm: Interfaith networks & The Feast, Andrew Smith, Interfaith Advisor to the Bishop of Birmingham and founder of The Feast

3.25pm – 3.45pm:Mohammed Ali, Soul City Arts

3.45pm – 4pm: Q&A

4 pm – 4.20pm: Wrapping up & Evaluation forms

4.30pm – 6pm: TOUR OF BIRMINGHAM CENTRAL MOSQUE (OPTIONAL)

6pm: Return to Birmingham New Street station

FAQs

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