Eternal Connections
Lead Research Organisation:
Historic Environment Scotland
Department Name: Conservation Group
Abstract
This project uses Historic Environment Scotland's (HES) upgraded heritage science equipment to stimulate discussion and creative practice around the heritage of Scotland's Muslim communities. Working with 3D models, creative practitioners, and community groups, it will use scientific analysis and research data to engage and work with a community not traditionally associated with Scotland's heritage. Through active collaboration between the project partners, we will find new ways of understanding and imagining the contemporary and historic connections between Scotland and Islam.
Publications
8th Braid Salaam Scouts
(2022)
Blog: History is fun with the 8th Braid Salaam Scouts
Alea Ibrahim
(2022)
Blog: The curious case of Caerlaverock Castle's Islamic glass
Claire Mullaney
(2022)
Press release: Medieval Islamic glass reveals untold histories
Lisa Brown
(2022)
Eternal Connections
in Celebrating Archaeology in Scotland 2022
Susan Swarbrick
(2022)
An Eternal Enigma
in Historic Scotland: The Magazine for Historic Scotland Members
| Title | Glass beaker reconstuction |
| Description | Working with 3D models, creative practitioners, and community groups, the Eternal Connections project utilised scientific analysis (captured using CapCo funded equipment) and research data to engage and work with a community not traditionally associated with Scotland's heritage. Through active collaboration between the project partners, the team found new ways of understanding and imagining the contemporary and historic connections between Scotland and Islam. Artist Alice Martin undertook a wide programme of research into the Islamic glass fragments, then made her own digital reconstruction 3D model of how the glass fragments would have looked when as an intact glass beaker. Alice's research was captured in 3 YouTube videos, and shared as a Sketchfab model. Background and shape - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIug-9CWmuQ Islamic calligraphy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q05_1rZpbgg Fish imagery - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZMwrz-ey4g |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | Alice's Sketchfab model is free to download so other artists or creative practitioners around the world can use the data, remix or 3D print their own version. By making this open access, it is hoped this will inspire further creative responses. At the time of writing, the Sketchfab model has been viewed 517 times and downloaded 6 times. |
| URL | https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/glass-beaker-reconstruction-caerlaverock-castle-c697dcc193cf42858060... |
| Description | HES have been collaborating on the Eternal Connections project in 2022. This involved using a trio of Islamic glass fragments, discovered by archaeologists at Caerlaverock Castle in the late 1990s, to inspire conversations and creative responses about the heritage of Scotland's Muslim communities. The project ran in three phases. In the first, HES staff used cutting-edge research and digital documentation techniques to understand more about the fragments and their composition. This work was supported by a suite of new equipment we obtained through a £650k grant from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. In the second phase, Stirlingshire-based visual artist Alice Martin researched other examples of medieval Islamic glass and worked with our data to produce a 3D- digital reconstruction of what the original beaker might have looked like. In the third phase, we worked with two Muslim community groups: the Muslim Scouts in Edinburgh, and the Glasgow-based AMINA - Muslim Women's Resource Centre, to run a series of workshops centred on Alice's reconstruction, and the story of the Islamic glass. The sessions were all about creative responses to the glass fragments, their story, and the historical connections between Scotland and Islam. The groups worked with 3D printed models of Alice's reconstruction to create their own versions of what the beakers might have looked like and used calligraphy and drawings to create their own artistic responses to the themes of movement and migration. In one workshop, the Muslim Scouts learned more about the scientific research we'd done on the fragments, and how we use things like x-rays to understand more about the material composition of objects. Both groups also visited a HES property - the Scouts enjoyed a facilitated visit to Stirling Castle, and AMINA's group visited Caerlaverock. We used ThingLink platform to share all the outputs, pictures, research, and stories from Eternal Connections. Eternal Connections has been a truly collaborative project, working closely across teams within HES, and with our community partners. Creative Wellbeing Practitioner, Vicky Mohieddeen, who ran workshops centred on Alice's reconstruction, and the story of the Islamic glass with AMINA, said: "Eternal Connections provoked very strong reactions within our group - more than I think anyone could have anticipated. These small pieces of glass held within them themes of separation, uncertainty, homeland and family - themes with a particular resonance for our group. "Many of the women in our group are prevented from working and participating in society due to the UK asylum system, so allowing them the opportunity to share their own extensive knowledge about history and culture with the HES team had a big impact." |
| Exploitation Route | We are currently working with our Eternal Connections project partners to support them in two associated follow up projects. One is by our artist partner, Alice Martin, who is seeking further funding to deliver an exhibition on her creative practice and artistic outputs from the project. The second is by our creative wellbeing partner, Vicky Mohieddeen, who is seeking further funding to deliver a digital exhibition on the Amina Womens Resource Centre creative outputs and the impact the project had on the women who took part. We are also looking for further opportunities to continue our partnerships with 8th Braid Salaam Scouts. We hope this project will inspire others to develop similar community and creative based projects to demonstrate the wider impact of heritage science. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Description | The outputs from the Eternal Connections project will be used to support delivery of the Historic Environment Scotland Equality Outcomes for 2021-2025. The project has resulted in a significant societal impact for the participants from the Amina Womens Resource Centre. Following the creative practice sessions they mentioned the following impacts: Greater sense of community Reduced isolation Greater sense of purpose Learning and gaining knowledge Practicing English Gaining life skills Expressing selves One participant wrote: I am sad that the project is over. I used to run to [the class] every week as if I were to meet my family. It made me very happy, away from worries and made me feel comfortable. Leave behind the worries in the heart and learn good things. The most interesting thing was to throw away things that worry us and truly make a positive impact in life. I hope that these classes are offered again so I can attend. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2022 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Title | Eternal Connections ThingLink |
| Description | We have developed a free to access ThingLink webtool to share the results of primary research, scientific analysis, engagement workshops and site visits conducted throughout the Eternal Connections project. This is published online and meets accessibility criteria. The ThingLink can be accessed and explored here: https://www.thinglink.com/card/1604051920832430081 |
| Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The ThingLink has been very well received due to its ease of access and navigation, and comprehensive content. Feedback from project participants and members of the public has been wholly positive. HES will now use ThingLink as a dissemination platform going forward. |
| URL | http://www.thinglink.com/card/1604051920832430081 |
| Description | Eternal Connections |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | This project uses Historic Environment Scotland's (HES) upgraded heritage science equipment to stimulate discussion and creative practice around the heritage of Scotland's Muslim communities. Working with 3D models, creative practitioners, and community groups, it will use scientific analysis and research data to engage and work with a community not traditionally associated with Scotland's heritage. Through active collaboration between the project partners, we will find new ways of understanding and imagining the contemporary and historic connections between Scotland and Islam. PLANNED WORKSHOPS We will deliver a series of workshops with partners in summer 2022. Starting with fragments of a Islamic glass beaker in HES collections, we will use 3D models created as part of the project, and will run a series of collaborative, creative workshops with Scottish Muslim community groups. The sessions will bring heritage directly to under-represented groups, and produce creative responses to the questions of identity, belonging, and connection posed by the object. Project Partner: Muslim Scouts For the Scouts, we will run two workshops as part of the Scout's weekly 90-minute Friday meetings in Edinburgh. Workshops will take the form of a calligraphy session, with participants learning to write some of the 99 names of Allah in Arabic script. Working with our Gaelic team, and building on the themes of identity and connection raised in an earlier site visit, we will translate these names into Gaelic, and combine Arabic and Gaelic imagery to produce drawings of how participants themselves think the Islamic glass beaker might have looked. Workshop 3 will see HES bring along the CapCo equipment and demonstrate it in action via a mix of live and pre-prepared demonstrations. Along with showcasing the capabilities of the equipment, this will provide an opportunity to promote heritage science as a career. Project Partner: Amina For Amina, we will run a series of four workshops with a group of up to 8 women from Middle Eastern or Kurdish Sorani communities. We are particularly keen to engage with women who are asylum seekers or refugees, a group that Amina have long experience of supporting. We will draw on Amina's previous experiences of producing the Life in the Time exhibition with over a hundred Muslim and BME women, and adopt a similar creative approach by running discussion sessions mixed with poetry and postcard writing, video and podcast production. OUTPUTS AND IMPACTS Eternal Connections will produce: new knowledge about HES's collections; a series of creative responses to this heritage; and 3D models accessible to the public. The project's main impacts will be softer. First and foremost, we want participants to see themselves in Scotland's heritage, and to help us find ways to tell a more inclusive story about our society and past. Scotland's Muslims are under-represented across the heritage sector, both in terms of our workforce and in the stories we tell. We cannot change this with just one project, but through co-production and collaboration we can better understand the issues and barriers facing Muslims in contemporary Scotland. To understand if the project has had an impact on participants, we will conduct a light-touch, informal survey of those involved before and after the project starts and ends. This will also help us to reflect on what worked and what didn't so that we can improve future practice. By using the eternal connections revealed by the Islamic Glass and our investigations into it, we are starting a conversation about how we can better represent Scotland's Muslim heritage. Success factors will include the number of direct and indirect participants; new potential partnerships identified; and new resources created for education and learning. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Eternal Connections presentation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Presentation by Lyn Wilson, Anila Mirza, Lynsey Haworth, Adam Frost to Historic Environment Scotland's Research & Climate Change Team Dialogues on 27 October 2022. This presentation demonstrated the impact and reach of this collaborative project, and detailed the specific use of the CapCo purchased specialist heritage science equipment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Eternal Connections presentation to National Heritage Science Forum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Lisa Brown gave a presentation on the use of the CapCo heritage science equipment and the Eternal Connections project to the National Heritage Science Forum - Communities Working Group on 22 September 2022. This was attended by around 30 heritage professionals and sparked discussion and ideas about future activites. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Our Place In Time Engagement Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Our Place in Time is Scotland's Historic Environment Strategy and is currently being refreshed. Anila Mirza ran a workshop during the strategy consultation period on 20 August 2022, with Amina Womens Resource Centre, who were our partner in Eternal Connections. The women contributed their views on what heritage means to them and shared their thoughts on what Historic Environment Scotland and its partners could do to remove barriers for refugee women to support them to create a sense of belonging. This engagement project was based on the scientific equipment procured through the CapCo grant. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Our Place In Time Innovation Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Our Place In Time (OPiT) is Scotland's historic environment strategy. It is currently being refreshed by Historic Environment Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers. We held a workshop on innovation at the Engine Shed, Stirling on 06 September 2022, at which Lyn Wilson, Sophia Mirashrafi, Adam Frost and Maureen Young showcased the heritage science equipment purchased through our CapCo grant, and the Eternal Connections ThingLink produced with this Impact grant. Around 75 heritage professionals from across the UK attended, which sparked requests for further showcases and started dialogue on potential collaborative projects using this equipment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/be-part-of-history-and-have-your-say-on-scotland-... |
| Description | Presentation by Vicky Mohieddeen at AHRC RICHeS Launch Event at the Engine Shed on 03 March 2023. Talk title: Eternal Connections - Exploring Displacement and Belonging Through Heritage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | At the AHRC run launch event, we had the opportunity to invite partners to speak about the impacts of heritage science. Vicky Mohieddeen, our partner in Eternal Connections spoke about the impact this project (and the resultant impact from the CapCo equipment fund) had on the group of women from the Amina Womens Resource Centre that took part. It was the intention that this talk would spark discussion around how heritage, and heritage science can have wider societal impacts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |