Islamic Art Subject Specialist Network survey

The newly-established Subject Specialist Network (SSN) for Islamic Art and Material Culture would like to invite you to participate in the Islamic Mapping Project. This important and wide-ranging survey aims to gather, for the first time, comprehensive data on the contents and locations of public collections of Islamic art and material culture in the UK and Ireland, however large or small. The survey has a very broad focus which includes all ethnographic material from the Middle East/Islamic lands, and all ethnographic material from diaspora Muslim communities including those in the UK.

Through this survey we also hope to identify the types of support that may be needed among all collections, but especially those with limited resources, staff, or specialist curatorship. This will help the SSN identify areas of need, allowing us to develop targeted workshops and seminars which will support museum professionals working with collections that include Islamic art and material culture.

Results of the survey will be published on the SSN’s new website (to be launched in 2014), where a dedicated series of pages will present the information gathered about collections around the country.

So, if assessing your institution's collection of Islamic art and material culture has long been on the 'To Do' list, now is the moment to engage with the community of Islamic art specialists nationwide by completing this questionnaire. 

To find out more and to participate in this unique effort to map all public Islamic collections in the UK, please email islamicmappingproject@gmail.com to be sent a unique link to the survey questionnaire. Support with filling in the questionnaire and assistance with identifying any Islamic material in the collections you work with is readily available by contacting the same address.

Please note that the deadline for participation in the survey is late April.