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Organized by Neelam Hussain

Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation

£11,056

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Impact: Birmingham, England

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This campaign will collect all funds raised by July 31, 2020 at 6:45 PM EDT

Promoting wider engagement with the history, heritage and arts of the Islamic world and working towards building a Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage in the UK.


Help us raise the funds to establish a Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage in the UK

Support our work delivering workshops and pop-up events to schools and community groups.  


Over the last few years we have been working on projects promoting wider engagement with the rich history, heritage, literature and arts of the Islamic world and bringing them to new and diverse audiences. Now is the time to take this one step further and work towards building a dedicated museum that provides a broad programme of exhibitions, educational workshops, events and resources.


  • OUR AIM

    The project has been brought together by a group of researchers and heritage practitioners at the University of Birmingham. We want to share our passion for Islamic arts and history but are frustrated by the lack of provision outside central London and the desire to create more authentic representations of the diversity and rich cultural legacy of Muslims and the Islamic world. We need  your support to establish the UK's only dedicated Islamic Arts & Heritage museum: a space that is dedicated to providing an inspiring cultural and educational space that meets the needs of future generations and connects them with their heritage.


    • WHY A MUSEUM? 

    Museums are a place of learning, shared knowledge, and are a valuable asset to the communities they serve. They bring people together to appreciate the world's shared heritage. However, many of the national and regional museums consistently fail to engage with BAME audiences, including Muslims. It is a mistake to think that Muslims are not interested in the arts or their history. Our research has shown that arts and cultural projects that provide authentic and relevant content can be very successful amongst these communities, bringing them physical and mental benefits. We need to remove current barriers to participation and create a space that meets the needs of diverse communities and be open to all who are interested.


    With the highest number of Muslims in any UK local authority living in Birmingham - and being Europe's youngest city - it is the perfect place to build this museum for future generations. Its location in the heart of the Midlands will be far more accessible to Muslims from across the UK than any other city. 



    WHAT DO WE DO?

    We have already been working on projects that delivered history talks, art workshops, poetry evenings, pop-up events and exhibitions with school groups, students, isolated community groups, families and at general public events. We have mentored people who are interested in working in the heritage sector. We have supported students at the University of Birmingham to create their own Islamic Arts & Heritage Society (Tweets: @uob_islamicarts / Insta: islamicartsandheritage) and have developed resources for them to use. You can find out more about the work of our lead member here. We have been talking to Birmingham residents and Muslim parents about what they would like to see in their museum. Now is the time to take action and take the first step towards building the museum. WE CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP!



    HOW WILL YOUR DONATION HELP?

    So far we have been collecting from friends and families, applying for small funds, and contributing ourselves to deliver our activities. The funds raised from this campaign will be our first step towards making the museum a reality. They will be used to formally establish a foundation and begin the work needed for a long-term fundraising campaign to build the museum. The more we can raise, the quicker we can make this museum a reality. 


    Keep in touch and follow our progress by following us on Twitter: @FoundationMiah


    - £7,500 is our initial target that will allow us to establish the foundation and cover our initial costs.

    - £12,000 will allow us to begin our campaign and develop a website that delivers free content on the history and arts of the Islamic world.

    - £18,000 will help us to build a long-term fundraising campaign for the museum.

    - £24,000 will cover our running costs and allow us to buy the materials needed to deliver pop-up events to raise further funds and create support for the museum.

    -£35,000 will allow us to also start developing learning resources for schools that people can benefit from immediately while we work to raise funds for the museum.

    -£50,000 will put us in a position to begin seeking external funds to match those we have raised and will be our first major step towards building the museum.


    This campaign is supported by a group of academics, heritage practitioners, artists, activists, teachers, educators, students and parents based in the UK who need your help to make this happen.



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    Updates 3

    Neelam Hussain2 years ago

    Welcome to the Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation!

    Salaam and hello,


    We are getting in touch to update you about how we used the funds you donated to our 2020 campaign to establish the Museum of Islamic Arts & Heritage (MIAH) Foundation. In case you have forgotten what we are all about: MIAH Foundation seeks to promote awareness and understanding of the history, arts, culture and heritage of the Islamic world, as well as the history of Muslims in Britain and Europe through exhibitions, education, workshops and events. Our long-term objective is to raise funds to establish the UK’s first independent museum dedicated to the arts and heritage of Muslims and the Islamic world.


    Although the pandemic caused some delays to our plans, we have been working hard behind the scenes to get more feedback about what potential audiences, artists and educators would like to see, where they see the gaps and how this should shape our vision, aims and objectives as we wrote our articles. We have used this feedback and your donations to establish the foundation, draw up a two-year plan of activities, and develop a website that will serve as a platform for our vision. We have also been applying for arts grants to deliver a programme of activities so that the money you all donated goes further in supporting our long-term goals, whilst the grants mean that we can start work delivering projects on the ground from now (as grant money is tied to projects that can be delivered from now). This is all thanks to the trust you all put in us when donated to us. 


    We are launching our official website today - www.miahfoundation.com  - and we wanted to use this opportunity to update you and thank each and every individual for your support in the lead up to this launch. Our website features a range of exhibitions with online galleries on Islamic history, art, literature, science and much more. Please take a look at the exhibition we just published on early Quran manuscripts here: https://miahfoundation.com/exhibitions/the-art-of-quran-manuscripts 

    We will be uploading further exhibitions to the other galleries in the upcoming weeks. Follow our social media channels linked below to keep up to date with new content. 
     

    We also have some exciting events and workshops lined up. Our website includes a directory of artists and curators such as Sonia and Sarvar Sabri, Amerah Saleh, Farwa Moledina and others, as well as a section on essays from artists and writers, so do keep a look out!
     

    Our first online event will be held on October 21st and will discuss: People, Places, Traces: Early Medieval Exchanges Between England and the Arab World. We will then have our formal launch events on the 9th and 12th of November 2022. We will be holding our inaugural annual lecture at the University of Birmingham on November 9th where we will be discussing: Representing Recitation: The Qur'an in the Museum. On November 12th, we will be holding an art workshop where you can come along and Decorate-your-own photo frame upon exploring the style of 17th century albums from Mughal India.  Take a look at our website for further details on these upcoming events! https://miahfoundation.com/events  
     

    Furthermore, it is with great pleasure that we can announce the receipt of two grants for forthcoming projects.The Barakat Trust (with support from the Heritage Fund) are enabling a project working with students and the local community to explore the contents of the Mingana Collection of Middle Eastern Manuscripts at the Cadbury Research Library. 
     

    We have also been awarded the Arab British Centre's Arab Britain project commission 2022 where we will be delivering a community history engagement project documenting more than one thousand years of history between the British Isles and the Arab world.
     

    This message is (a rather long!) update and an opportunity to thank you for the work we have been able to do, but we will not be contacting you again using this campaign link. We sincerely hope you will keep in touch and continue to support our work by signing up to our newsletter, sharing our work, following us on social media, and getting directly involved, if you can. We greatly appreciate the interest and enthusiasm shown towards the MIAH Foundation project and look forward to your continued support throughout this journey.


    You can sign up for our newsletter in one easy step here: https://miahfoundation.com/mailing-list


    Twitter: @FoundationMiah

    Instagram: @miahfoundation

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoundationMIAH

     

    Our sincere gratitude for all your support,

    From all the MIAH Foundation team.

    Neelam Hussain4 years ago

    Goal Reached! But we’re not done yet...

    We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has contributed to this fundraising campaign. Alhamdulillah, we are so pleased to announce that we have now reached - and exceeded - our initial goal of £7500! Thanks to your donations and support, we can now establish the foundation and start working towards our objectives. 


    We now have just one day left of the campaign and will make the push to see if we can take the total to £10,000. That extra £2500 will allow us to develop a website that provides free and accessible resources and articles on the history, heritage and arts of the Islamic world. 

    Do share your support with your friends and networks, encouragIng them to support too. 


    Best wishes,
    Neelam Hussain
    Hanan Fara
    Amna Nazir
    University of Birmingham Islamic Arts & Heritage Society Committee

    Neelam Hussain4 years ago

    Thank you for a fantastic start!

    Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported us so far and the encouragement we have received - it means a lot.Together, we managed to achieve 25% of our initial target within 48 hours of going live with the campaign.


    You can help us further by sharing and endorsing the project to your social media followers and contacts. You can also follow us or get updates on Twitter @FoundationMiah or via Neelam Hussain @N_S_Hussain.


    Our best wishes,

    Neelam Hussain, Hanan Fara, Amna Nazir &

    University of Birmingham's Islamic Arts & Heritage Society




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