Bahai News - Major Bahá'í Exhibition in Glasgow Museum

Opening on June 2nd, 2001, Glasgow Museums is putting on a major exhibition on the Bahá'í Faith in the St. Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. As well as a series of panels outlining the teachings, history and profile of the Faith, it will include an original letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Andrew Carnegie, a Tranquillity Zone, a model of the New Delhi House of Worship, a multimedia display and a series of works of art by Bahá'í artists. The exhibition will run for almost five months, closing on October 21 and is expected to attract over 40,000 visitors. It is almost certainly the biggest public event about the Faith to take place in Scotland since the visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Edinburgh in 1913.

The exhibition marks the fruition of a long-term relationship which the Bahá'ís have had with the museum since it opened in 1994. Although at the time, it was disappointing that the Faith was not included in the museums "Gallery of World Faiths", a positive contact was maintained and developed. Interestingly, the event which finally prompted the museum to host the exhibition was a letter from a Bahá'í couple who visited the museum and who asked why there was so little about the Faith displayed there. The exhibition is being partly sponsored by the Bahá'í Council for Scotland. Both the design and acquisition of items is being done in collaboration with the museum and the Council for Scotland.

Two very noteworthy items to be on display are a 'One-World Tree' and a model of the New Delhi Temple. The tree consists of branches being constructed by Scottish Bahá'í s around the country and will be used to collect 'Hopes for Humanity' which visitors to the exhibition can hang on it. The temple model is being borrowed from the Peace Museum, in Verdun in France, and measures 2.2m x 2.2m. It is a beautiful scale version of the House of Worship.

To coincide with the exhibition, the Publishing Trust is preparing a booklet which complements the display panels, will be available to visitors at the museum, and can also be used as a general booklet introducing the Bahá'í Community in Scotland. In addition a series of events are planned to run in parallel with the exhibition including seminars, arts presentations and discussion groups. If you are planning to be in Scotland any time between June and October, please come and visit the exhibition. The museum is on the grounds of Glasgow Cathedral in the centre of the city. It is open 10-5 every day of the week and admission is free.