How do you strengthen local relations with an exhibition on Islamic art?
From 8 September 2018 until 3 March 2019 the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag presented ‘Splendour and Bliss. Arts of the Islamic World’. After a long absence, this project put this collection of Islamic art back in the spotlight. The plan to exhibit this collection in all its richness received lots of reactions; from our audience to our partners, and from our ambassadors in the city districts to the city council. Everyone seemed to have expectations or assumptions about the opportunities that this project would offer in terms of inclusiveness.
Strengthening personal connections with Splendour and Bliss
The Gemeentemuseum Den Haag decided to examine closely the expectations and assumptions and ran the project in the closest alignment as possible with the guidelines of the cultural diversity code. The result is a wonderful project running during the autumn of 2018, in which the museum works closely on an exhibition, satellite programme, education and campaign with a large and extraordinarily diverse group of people who, for various reasons, are able to relate to this collection or even feel a personal connection with the exhibits in it. Not only is the whole of our team working towards in the opening, they remain involved for the entire duration of the exhibition.
Literature, Food & Drink and Music
An important theme is the Literature, Food & Drink and Music programme. Throughout the collection and the exhibition, these sensory themes recur time and again in the function or representation of the objects. This prompted the museum to work together with six writers, six cooks and six musicians. They browsed through the collection and each selected an object. They then brought the objects to life with their personal stories, which were given prominence in the exhibition, the catalogue, the programme and the public campaign. In addition, Mounir Raji photographed all of the participants with the objects they had selected, so that their contribution would be expressed visually as well. These participants not only supplied beautiful content for the exhibition, they also formed an important advisory group for the project.
I had to abandon my home in my homeland, and in doing so I lost everything. Now, as a representative of Syrian culinary culture, I was privileged to select an object from the collection and associate a dish with it. That made me incredibly proud.
Involvement, multiperspectivity and innovation
For this project, the Gemeentemuseum also worked with an advisory group, a music consultant, ambassadors from the city, guest curators, researchers, authors, programme participants, project staff, photographers, designers and video makers. This resulted in a period of great encounters, new sounds, wonderful stories surrounding the collection and insights into the value of new partners and public groups for the museum. ‘Splendour and Bliss. Arts from the Islamic World’ is mainly about the involvement of significant creators and public groups, the multiperspectivity of the collection and the renewal of procedures.
The medallion carpet inspired me so much that I started writing that very night. One image followed another, and my mind leapt from idea to idea.
This project was made possible with the support of Suzanne Lambooy, Anissa Foukalne, Luit Mols, Charlotte Huygens, Anne de Haij, Behrang Mousavi, Irma Benliyan, Jolanda van Zijl, Kim Hoefnagels, Zina Abboud, Nadia Zerouali, Benno Tempel, Laurent Khellout, Daniel Koep, Barbaros Tasal, Kevin Patti, Shadi Ajaouillan, Rashid Novaire, Kader Abdolah, Jet van Overeem, Rodaan Al-Galidi, Lisa Kolker, Sumai en Nassar Yahya, Naema Tahir, Hizir Cengiz, Emine Bostanci, Bao Fei, Michel Stooker, Amer Chanati, Arash Aria, Amido Damri, Ofran Badakshani, Shervin Nekuee, Balout Khazrei, and many others.
Contact: Project Manager Anne de Haij
To find out more, please see the exhibition page on the Gemeentemuseum website.