Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections (DLIVCC)
Purpose-driven startup in Edinburgh, Scotland specialising in Islamic art, architecture, material culture, and histories for wide public audiences. We work collaboratively across Games/Entertainment, XR, GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums), and Education sectors for positive social impact. Led by founding director Glaire Anderson, games projects include Assassin's Creed Mirage and its educational Codex feature (Ubisoft, 2023), The Córdoba Journey (with Abertay University), and Digital Munya R&D projects.
Digital Lab Days July 2 - 4
Islamic Art, Games/XR, & GLAM: Scotland
Join us for a Digital Lab Days event in Scotland!
The event takes place 2-3 July 2025 in Edinburgh, with an optional 4 July special excursion to Glasgow. Our focus is on the intersections of Islamic art, architecture, video games/XR, digital cultural heritage and museum collections.
This event will bring together our local and international community members and anyone else who shares our interest in bridging academic, video games, immersive digital technologies, and cultural heritage sectors for positive social impact. We'll combine brief talks with hands-on workshops, and plenty of time for meeting fellow members of the Digital Lab community, strengthening our local, regional, and international connections, and sharing exciting new projects.
Organizer: Glaire Anderson
Planning Committee: Mona Arafat, Isabella Inskip, Deniz Vural
2 - 3 July (Edinburgh)
Two day ticket, 2-3 July (Edinburgh), Register here
Single day ticket, 2 July conference/workshop (Edinburgh Futures Institute): register here
Single day ticket, 3 July GLAM collections visits (University of Edinburgh/National Museums Scotland): register here
Special Glasgow excursion ticket, Museum in the Metaverse/Glasgow Life Museum Collections, 4 July
Register here
Special Glasgow excursion: Student/concession register here
Programme
Participants: please refer to the final programme which contains further details and helpful pre-session links, emailed to all registered participants on 30 June from [email protected]
Day 1 July 2, Edinburgh Futures Institute
9:30 Coffee, arrivals
10 Welcome & Introduction, Dr. Glaire Anderson, Senior Lecturer in Islamic Art, School of History of Art/ECA and Founding Director, Digital Lab for Islamic Visual Culture & Collections
10:10 - 10:45 Keynote
Navigating Art, Games and Identity Over 10 Years, Malath Abbas (Director & Creative Producer, Biome Collective)
Malath Abbas is an Iraqi-British game designer, artist, and creative producer based in Dundee ('The Gaming Capital of Europe'). Malath is the founder of Biome Collective, a creative studio and community exploring games, interactive media, and digital art. His work focuses on experimental, socially engaged projects that combine technology, storytelling, and public engagement. In this keynote, Malath will reflect on ten years of creative practice across art, games, and socially engaged design.
10: 45 - 11:45 - AM Session 1: Bridging the academy and video games/entertainment/XR
10: 45 - 11:00 - Education in Games – The Cordoba Journey, Josef Wesley and Ivana Rodrigues (Co-Founders, Shouty Knot Games)
11: 00- 11:15 - Coded Misrepresentation: Orientalism and Inequity in Non-Violent Video Games, Mona Arafat (MSc ‘2024, History of Art MOCA, University of Edinburgh)
11:15 - 11:30 - Extended Reality: alternative understanding of forced migration and Middle Eastern Heritage, Ahmed El-Shaer (PhD Candidate, Abertay University)
11:30 -11: 45 - Questions and Discussion
11:45 - 12:15 Coffee Break
12:15 - 1:00 Session 2: Digital Technologies for Islamic Art History & Cultural Heritage
12:15 - 12:30 - Dynamic Spaces: Digital visualisation and the peripatetic lifestyle of the Great Mughals, Isabella Inskip (PhD Candidate, History of Art, University of Edinburgh)
12:30 - 12: 45 - Preserving Islamic Heritage Through Immersive Technologies, Halley Ramos (Co-Founder S.O.E./ Adjunct Professor Columbia University)
12:45- 1:00 Questions and Discussion
1:00 - 2:30 - LUNCH BREAK
2:30 - 4:30 pm - PM Session: Digital Cultural Heritage Workshop
2:30 - 4:30 pm Collaborative hands-on workshop, led by Halley Ramos ( Co-Founder S.O.E./ Adjunct Professor, Columbia University)
Workshop Overview:
This hands-on workshop introduces participants to the tools and workflows used to document and visualize Islamic art and architecture for immersive digital experiences. Participants will explore the role of photogrammetry and 3D scanning in creating interpretive content and preserving cultural heritage, with a live scanning demonstration and guided field capture exercise.
Participants will learn:
- How photogrammetry and 3D scanning workflows (using RealityCapture) are used to document historic features
- How scan data is processed into high-quality 3D models
- How these models support:
- Online and in-gallery digital exhibits
- Game engine environments
- Augmented/virtual reality experiences
- Print-based interpretation and condition assessment
- Lightweight, replicable workflows for institutional and community-based projects
No prior experience with scanning or modeling is required—just curiosity and an interest in Islamic art, cultural heritage, and digital storytelling.
4:45 Adjourn for the day
Optional Dinner (info will be sent to registered participants)
Day 2 July 3 Edinburgh: Islamic GLAM Collections
Limited to 20 participants
10-12 Spotlight on University of Edinburgh Heritage Collections: Islamic manuscripts & Digitisation Initiatives, selected by Saqib Baburi (World Cultures Curator - Arabic and Persian), Rachel Hosker, University Archivist and Research Collections Manager, and Gavin Willshaw (Digital Collections and Making Services Manager).
Location: Centre for Research Collections, Main Library, University of Edinburgh
We'll have the opportunity to examine some of the important Islamic manuscripts and works on paper from Edinburgh's renowned collection. Among these, Saqib Baburi will be selecting manuscripts which may have mention of board games, such as in epics and historical works that mention, for example: Shatranj (chaturanga) - chess; Snakes and ladders; Backgammon; Pachisi (pasha) or chaupar - parcheesi / ludo. We'll also visit the uCreate and Digitisation studios.
12:55 - 2:30 Spotlight on Islamic art, National Museum Scotland with Friederike Voigt (Principal Curator, West, South & Southeast Asian collections, Head of Asia Section, Department of Global Arts, Cultures and Design)
Friederike Voigt will lead participants on a 60-90 min walk through the museum to focus on access to collections from West/South/Southeast Asia. She’ll also highlight new contemporary installations and aims, opportunities and challenges around digital content from a curatorial perspective. The gallery walk will be followed by time for questions/discussion.
4 July (Glasgow) Special Excursion
Limited to 20 participants
10 - 12 Hands-on Workshop: Museums in the Metaverse, University of Glasgow
The Museums in the Metaverse (MiM) project is a ground-breaking two-sided Extended Reality (XR) Cultural Heritage platform that aims to empower diverse visitors to explore cultural assets in new and engaging ways; enable cultural heritage professionals and non-specialist users to create new content; and explore models of use to support sustainable economic and cultural growth. We'll receive an introduction to MiM and test it out for ourselves in this two-hour hands-on session.
1:30 Spotlight on Islamic Art collections in Glasgow with Aisha Asghar (Assistant Curator, World Cultures - Art)
Aisha Asghar will lead a specialist viewing session with select Islamic objects at the Glasgow Museum Resource Centre
3 Farewells
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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.
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