Multaka: Connecting Threads

Multaka: Connecting Threads

لقماش العربي ملتقي الثقافات

1 April 2019 – 10 February 2020
Didcot Case (Lower Gallery)

The ‘Multaka-Oxford’ Project: Museums as Meeting Point

'Multaka' means ‘meeting point’ in Arabic. 'Multaka-Oxford' is a collaborative project involving the Pitt Rivers Museum, the History of Science Museum, community partners and volunteers. Funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, 'Multaka-Oxford' is about integration, inclusivity and shared cultures. The project has created new volunteer roles in these museums, particularly for people who have recently arrived in Oxford.

Since April 2018, staff and volunteers have been developing news ways for museums and their collections to be used by people to build practical skills, connect with others, learn and share stories. The museums have benefitted greatly from giving space to diverse voices and, by listening, have gained new insights into their collections.

The Collection: Textiles from the Arab World

'Multaka' volunteers at the Pitt Rivers Museum have worked closely with staff to add new perspectives to a collection of textiles, recently donated by Dr Jenny Balfour-Paul. Jenny is a researcher, collector of worldwide textiles and a renowned expert on indigo dye. In 2016, she offered the Museum a selection of textiles purchased during her travels around the Middle East and North Africa during the 1970s and 1980s.

The Display: Intercultural Interpretation

This display was produced by five volunteers from different countries, with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. The aim is to highlight how museums can be a meeting point for people to share their cultures, experiences and interests, and to tell important stories.

The collaborators have selected objects from the Jenny Balfour-Paul collection, as well as photographs and personal items, and have each produced a set of personalised captions. The connections between these individual narratives reveal the common threads human beings share.

“For me [this] donation is a kind of handing back and a thank you to the countries concerned, so I was thrilled to meet the volunteers who were researching the textiles and interpreting them from their point of view.” — Jenny Balfour-Paul

Different languages have been used in some of the labels to reflect the diversity of voices represented in this display.

Embroidered dress (front). Saraqib, Syria. Mid-twentieth century. Woman’s dress of black cotton, with embroidery in silk and synthetic thread. The embroidered decoration features traditional and regional designs, mostly produced in hand cross-stitch. Purchased by Jenny Balfour-Paul in 1985; donated by her to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 2016. (Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Accession Number: 2018.37.4)

Embroidered dress (reverse). Saraqib, Syria. Mid-twentieth century. Woman’s dress of black cotton, with embroidery in silk and synthetic thread. The embroidered decoration features traditional and regional designs, mostly produced in hand cross-stitch. Purchased by Jenny Balfour-Paul in 1985; donated by her to the Pitt Rivers Museum in 2016. (Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Accession Number: 2018.37.4)

Multaka-Oxford volunteers working with the Jenny Balfour-Paul collection to plan the display. (Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford)

‘Multaka: Connecting Threads’, Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, 1 April 2019 to 10 February 2020. (Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford)

Multaka-Oxford volunteers at the ‘Connecting Threads’ opening event. (Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford)

Multaka-Oxford volunteers, and co-curators of the ‘Connecting Threads’ exhibition, pictured in front of the display case. (Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford)