Join us for our post-Eid exhibition launch event with a specialists' guided tour of the exhibition "Taught by the Pen: The Qur'an & the Art of Calligraphy" . Taught by the Pen explores the role of the art of calligraphy in the preservation of the Qur'an in its written form through the centuries. Among the items on display are original folios, manuscripts and works of art over the span of one thousand years from across the Muslim world - from China to sub-Saharan Africa - as well as the tools and materials used by calligraphers. We also have on display loans of reproductions of the 7th century Birmingham Qur'an Manuscript (Cadbury Research Library, Birmingham), the 11th century Qur'an by master calligrapher Ibn al-Bawwāb (Chester Beatty Library, Dublin) and the 17th century Qur'an of the Moroccan sultan, Mulay Zaydan (El Escorial, Madrid).

Accompanying this exhibition is a beautiful and thoughtful sonic study by sound artist Tasawar Bashir of the night sky above Jabal al-Nūr in Makkah on the 24th August in the year 610 – thought by many to be the night of the first encounter between the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and the Angel Jibrīl (as).[1] Radio and spectral data from the stars, planets and cosmological phenomena that were visible on the night of the first revelation are turned into musical sounds and combined with a choir of Qur’anic recitation that extends across time and space into infinity. Elements found in the Birmingham Qur’an Manuscript, certain Maqqata’āt and verse 109 from Sūrah al-Kahf are referenced throughout this work.

The exhibition includes learning resources for younger minds to explore the exhibition and an activity table with calligraphy exercises for ages 9+.

Programme:

You will hear from our curator and director, Dr Neelam Hussain, and sound artist, Tasawar Bashir, who provided the beautiful and thoughtful soundscape to the exhibition, based on the Night of Revelation.

Attendees will get the chance to hear more about the exhibition and the opportunity to ask further questions.

To secure your place, please book in advance.

Tickets:

The cost of this one-off guided tour and curator's talk is the same as the standard entry price for the exhibition. The ticket prices are already subsidised by us to make the exhibition accessible. However, if you would like to attend but cannot afford to cover the ticket price, please contact us to make arrangements to help you.

Standard Ticket: £5 (+ ticket fees)

Concessions (students, low-income): £3.50 (+ ticket fees)

Family Ticket (<5 people): £15 (+ ticket fees)

Ages over 65: (flexible donation amount - free, or whatever you can afford)

Where applicable, please present proof of concessionary status with your ticket upon arrival.