Launch Event: Digital Museum of Sufi Stories and Art by Children & Families
About this Event
This free event will be both in person and online - please select your ticket of choice at checkout. A teams link will be circulated to online attendees 1 week before the event.
Join us for the hybrid launch of the Digital Museum of Sufi Stories and Art by Children and Families, a public engagement exhibition emerging from the Sufi Storytelling Project conducted by Dr Hamide Elif Üzümcü, the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World & Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Edinburgh. The launch event will be chaired by Tom Lea, General Manager of the Alwaleed Centre at the University of Edinburgh.
The project explores how Sufi literary and cultural heritage is shared and lived within family life in the UK. Through interviews with children and their parents, it brings together stories, sayings, creative and artistic expressions that reflect Sufi understandings of relationships with the society and the natural world.
Sufism (tasawwuf) is a mystical and spiritual tradition of Islam, rooted in the principle of Oneness (tawḥīd). Sufi storytelling is a living cultural practice central to family life, through which moral values are shared across generations. Drawing on Qur’anic and Hadith narratives as well as centuries-old Sufi literary traditions, these stories continue to inform how children and parents relate to the environment.
The exhibition brings this living intangible cultural heritage together in two interconnected sections:
1) The Children’s Digital Museum of Sufi Stories and Art presents a curated collection of creative artworks produced by children and young people through Story Design workshops.
2) The Family Archive of Sufi Narratives presents recorded oral narratives shared within family everyday lives, offering accounts into the contexts in which stories and sayings are retold.
The launch event offers an opportunity to explore the exhibition, hear about the research behind the project, and engage with the contributions of the children, young people, and families in the UK.
This event will be followed by a drinks reception.
This is a free event, which means we overbook to allow for no-shows and to avoid empty seats. While we generally do not have to turn people away, this does mean we cannot guarantee everyone a place. Admission is on a first come, first served basis.
Accessibility
This event will take place at IASH, 2 Hope Park Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9NW. Please see a map here: https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/location
The Seminar Room is on the first floor, and unfortunately IASH does not have a lift. If you have mobility issues and would like to discuss access, please contact [email protected] as soon as possible.
About the Researcher
The project is conducted by Dr Hamide Elif Üzümcü, TÜBİTAK 2219 International Postdoctoral Fellow & Associate Fellow (2026) at the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World and Nominated Fellow (2026) at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Social Sciences University of Ankara in Türkiye.
About the Chair
Tom Lea is the Alwaleed Centre's General Manager at the University of Edinburgh. Tom is also the Secretary of the British Association for Islamic Studies - the UK's only learned society and professional organisation focused on enhancing research and teaching about Islam and Muslim cultures and societies in UK higher education. He currently sits on the University of Edinburgh's Chaplaincy Committee.
Acknowledgements
This research project is funded by the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World and the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), the University of Edinburgh, and by the TÜBİTAK 2219 International Postdoctoral Fellowship of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye.
Dr Hamide Elif Üzümcü warmly thanks the participating parents, children, and young people for their time, active engagement, and meaningful contributions. Special thanks to Dr Ben Fletcher-Watson, Deputy Director of IASH, for developing the Digital Museum on the IASH website.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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