Fourteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This paper reflects on the significance and impact of Assembly, a site-specific research project made and exhibited in Brick Lane Mosque in London. The artwork, Jamaat (2018) comprises of two simultaneous film installations, one in the main prayer hall and one in the female prayer room. Each installation is informed, shaped and determined by the social, political, architectural and institutional discourses present in the site. At the end of the residency, the Brick Lane Jamme Masjid invited the general public into both sites of worship, providing an opportunity for Muslims and non-Muslims to experience Jamaat prayer via the site-performance. This paper examines the role of artist fieldwork in engaging and connecting communities in Islamic sites of worship. Mosques in the UK sit within a wider unhelpful discourse that makes anyone mosque representational of the many. Jamaat (2018) implicitly performs involvements in, as opposed to observations on, site, allowing public audiences to experience their own relationship and reading of the site. The artwork provides a platform for direct engagement with the Masjid community, resulting in debate and discussion around complex issues of segregation and the representation of Muslims in the UK. This paper examines the ethics and efficacy of such methods of engagement; the beneficiaries and benefits of the work produced and the meaningful processes of collaboration and exchange.