The Woolf Institute displays photographic exhibitions throughout its building. Detailed here are its current and previous exhibitions.
Contact enquiries@woolf.cam.ac.uk for further information and to book viewings.
- The Written Word: Timeless Arabic & Hebrew Calligraphy
Co-curated by Woolf Institute PhD Scholars Dunya Habash and Mohammed Ahmed, this exhibition explores the historical and metaphysical connections between text and how text is represented in the Abrahamic traditions.
Consisting of 32 pieces crafted by three award-winning calligraphers, Joumana Medlej, Michel D'Anastasio and Maaida Noor, these original masterpieces present modern works inspired by the classical calligraphic tradition.
- Art History from Below - the Imagery of the Cairo Genizah (Late 2020)
This exhibition will invoke the memory of Mizrahi Jewish culture by bringing together Genizah fragments dating from the early Medieval period to the 19th century. Scattered among the fragments of Judaism's literary history, one can find vestiges of an artistic tradition that veers from the careful painting of proficient scribal-artisans, through the rougher renderings of animals and flowers that adorn more modest 'user-produced' books, to the crude scorpions and djinns of esoteric texts.
The exhibition catalogue can be downloaded here.
Details from a 19th-century marriage contract (CUL Or. 1080.9.21). Reprinted with kind permission by the Syndics of Cambridge University Library.
- Churches as Spaces of Encounter and Challenge (2019-2020)
Opened on 10 February 2020, the photographic exhibition, Churches as Spaces of Encounter and Challenge, was opened by Dr Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College and former Archbishop of Canterbury.
The exhibition displays a variety of churches that are diverse in terms of their architecture, but also the social, cultural and political environments in which they are located. The surprising and unusual environments in which the buildings are located necessitates us to rethink of the very meaning of "church" - as space, community and theological concept.
- Jewish Worship, European Spaces (2018-2019)
Launched at the 20th Anniversary Research Day on 8 November 2018, Jewish Worship, European Spaces was a photographic exhibition of synagogues in Europe, past and present.
The exhibition catalogue can be downloaded here.
Photograph credits & special thanks to: Beit Hatfutsot: The Museum of the Jewish People, Ahmed Krausen, David Jackson/Caroe Architecture Ltd & Peter Singer, Davies Communications.
- Faces of Faith (2018)
Faces of Faith, A Photographic Exhibition was created by Woolf Institute Research Fellows, Dr Jan-Jonathan Bock and Dr John Fahy.
This exhibition displayed photographs by Jan and John, which were taken during the three-year research project, Assessing the Effectiveness of Interfaith Initiatives. The exhibition catalogue can be downloaded here.
- Islam in Europe (2017-18)
Islam in Europe was a photographic exhibition by Ahmed Eckhard Krausen.
Ahmed's award-winning photographs demonstrate the influence of European architecture on mosque design and are an example of religions' intrinsic ability to digest and adopt customs and styles from the environment in which they are located. The exhibition brochure can be downloaded here.
The image is reproduced with kind permission by Ahmed Eckhard Krausen.