Visual Narrative and Visitors’ Reported Understanding in the Revelation Exhibition at Hira Cultural District
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35560/jcofarts1897Keywords:
Visual narrative Museum exhibition Visitor-reported understanding Multimodal analysis Revelation Exhibition Hira Cultural DistrictAbstract
This study examines how the Revelation Exhibition at Hira Cultural District, Makkah, constructs a visual narrative across six halls and how visitors report understanding its content. A mixed-methods single-case study with a qualitative emphasis combined systematic observation of the exhibition, supported by photographs and field notes, with brief interviewer-administered interviews of 64 adult visitors. The bilingual visual interview card included multiple-selection questions and a short open-ended question. Structured responses were summarised using frequencies and percentages, available short answers were examined for explicitly stated exhibition content, and the two sources of evidence were compared in a matrix. Revelation to Prophet Muhammad in Hira Cave was the most frequently selected idea (59 of 64 visitors; 92.2%). The Seal of the Prophets and Messengers Hall (43; 67.2%) and Hira Cave Hall (29; 45.3%) were most often identified as helpful to understanding. Images and screens (45; 70.3%) and guide explanation (40; 62.5%) were the most frequently selected helpful factors. Visitor responses corresponded with the exhibition’s central topic, but provided limited evidence about understanding of the narrative connections across all six halls. The findings support focused evaluation of how visitors understand the later halls and how guide explanations relate to the displays. Reported understanding was not independently tested.
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