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Spring Updates

It's been a busy spring in the Digital Lab! In February we wrapped up the concept phase for Digital Munya 3, our collaboration with Maxime Durand and an international student team. Stay tuned for more on Digital Munya 3 soon. For now, here's a roundup of upcoming events, including a call for proposals for our first Digital Lab Day!

Digital Cultural Heritage Seminar, April 8th and 9th (online)

AOA - ARCHiVe Online Academy, the joint educational programme between Factum Foundation and Fondazione Giorgio Cini, will continue its 2024-2025 programme with the online seminar 'A Fusion of Virtual and Physical: Education, Engagement and Practice through Digital Immersive Experiences', featuring 4 lectures on April 8th and 9th.
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This course will be taught by Otto Lowe, Eduardo García (Factum Foundation), Halley Ramos (SOE Studio), Glaire Anderson (DLIVCC/University of Edinburgh, Sarah Slingluff (DLIVCC/Walters Art Museum, and Deniz Vural (DLIVCC/Khamseen) and Álvaro Soler (Real Armeria, Madrid) and will explore the potential of digital technologies to offer a fresh approach to education, blending entertainment with knowledge creation, while reshaping curricula and course content.

Images: Factum Arte / Factum Foundation / Ubisoft Entertainment

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Arabic Calligraphy Workshop with Hatem Arafa, 19 April - 6 May (online)

We're delighted to continue our collaboration with international calligrapher and designer Hatem Arafa. Hatem’s philosophy revolves around the idea of calligraphy as a form of visual storytelling, where every stroke of the pen is an expression of deeper cultural and spiritual narratives. His collaboration on Assassin's Creed Mirage, where he designed the game's distinctive Arabic crest and created intricate calligraphy artworks, is a testament to his ability to bring centuries-old traditions into modern contexts.Join him for an in-depth exploration of the Diwani script, where tradition meets innovation!

Welcome

This April we're happy to introduce Zeynep Özge Özdemir, DLIVCC Assistant. Zeynep is a dedicated advocate for preserving, representing, and ensuring the longevity of art and cultural heritage, with a background in International Heritage Visualisation. She'll be facilitating our Calligraphy Workshop with Hatem Arafa - welcome, Zeynep!

Call for proposals, Digital Lab Day, 2 July 2025, Edinburgh (in-person)

We're planning the first Digital Lab Day, to be held Wednesday 2 July 2025 in Edinburgh, Scotland. This one-day event aims to bring together our local and international community members and others who share our interest in bridging academic, video games/entertainment/XR+, and cultural heritage sectors for positive social impact.

The event will combine brief talks with hands-on workshops, and plenty of time for meeting fellow members of the Digital Lab community, strengthening our international connections, and sharing exciting new projects.

We welcome proposals for brief talks and participant-led workshops for two sessions:

Session 1: Bridging the academy and video games/entertainment/XR

Session 2: Digital Technologies and Islamic Collections

Other topics that align with the Digital Lab mission and values are welcome! Please email abstracts/proposals (max 500 words) to info@digitallabivcc.com by 18 April

Optional Excursions 3-4 July: We are looking into arranging visits to nearby museum collections, with a focus on Islamic visual culture and global connections.

Glaire D. Anderson, PhD Founding Director, Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections ​​​​ ​

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