Eternal Connections was a collaborative research and outreach project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC, grant reference AH/X000370/1), and run between HES, the Muslim Scouts of Edinburgh, The Muslim Women’s Resource Group and Alice Martin, a visual artist.
The project used three fragments of glass - found during an archaeological excavation at Caerlaverock Castle in the 1990s - to stimulate discussion and creative practice around the heritage of Scotland’s Muslim communities. The glass fragments are the first and only glass of their kind to be found in Scotland, and are thought to come from a drinking beaker made in the Middle East in the 12th or 13th centuries.
The project used cutting-edge scientific research equipment, acquired by HES through funding from a previous AHRC Capability for Collections grant (AH/V012088/1), to analyse the fragments, and produce accurate 3D models of them. Alice used this 3D and analytical data to create a digital recreation of what the Islamic glass beaker might have looked like when whole. This digital model, along with the fragments themselves, then formed the basis of a series of collaborative, creative workshops with Scottish Muslim community groups.
The workshops saw the Muslim Scouts visit Stirling Castle, try their hand at traditional Arabic calligraphy, and get hands-on with heritage science. Working with AMINA, we welcomed a Kurdish women’s group first to Caerlaverock Castle - where they wrote poetry and postcards inspired by the glass fragments and their journey to Scotland - and later to The Engine Shed, where they painted 3D printed models of the reconstructed beaker to create their own version of what the original vessel might have looked like.
Eternal Connections was all about building connections between people, between different times and different places, and enabling the participation and engagement of a group currently under-represented in Scotland’s heritage. We were delighted with the way the project turned out, and it’s led to further workshops run for Muslim women at our sites by Vicky Inam, and a follow-on project - The Art of Eternal Connections, involving even more creative practice and community engagement led by Alice, with funding from Creative Scotland.
More details about the Eternal Connections project are available via ThingLink.