Celebrating Art and Music: The SOAS Collections

‘Celebrating Art and Music: The SOAS Collections’ draws upon material from the SOAS collections to explore and acclaim the visual and sound arts of Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In focusing on the role of art and music in acts of celebration it showcases the rich histories and dynamic contemporary practices of art and music in SOAS’s specialist regions and enquires into connections between tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

This dynamic exhibition combines manuscripts, books, paintings, photographs and 3D objects with sound recordings, films and other audio-visual displays, many being shown to the public for the first time. A multisensory experience, it evokes the full richness of Asian, African and Middle Eastern visual and sound arts, bringing the SOAS collections to life in a new and vivid way.

“I am delighted that the centenary of SOAS, which for many years has played a leading role in the study of Asian, African and Middle Eastern art and music, will be celebrated with this exhibition”, says the curator, Anna Contadini, Head of the School of Arts. “The exhibits range widely across subject, time and place, from the transmission of Sufism into Central Asia in the sixteenth century to present-day African music and sculpture, reflecting the diverse interests and expertise of SOAS scholars.”

Celebrating Art and Music is accompanied by a catalogue of the same name that includes twelve essays exploring the context and significance of the diverse exhibits on display.

Some images from the exhibition