Exhibition featuring reflections on language, home and belonging in Edinburgh

This one-off session allows you a chance to have a guided tour of the exhibition “Between languages, between homes: Visual stories of language and belonging in Edinburgh” on it’s opening day.

Join Dr Min-Hsiu Liao, an Associate Professor of Languages and Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University and researcher who investigates multilingual practices in multimodal spaces, including museums, heritage sites, and urban linguistic landscapes.

The exhibition features drawings that were the creative output of 20 art workshops that were led by refugee artists across Edinburgh.

These workshops brought together participants from diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. Through drawing, they explored and expressed their experiences of old and new languages, as well as their reflections on leaving former homes and finding a sense of belonging (or not belonging) in Edinburgh.

Featuring both the creative outputs and accompanying captions written in English and other languages, this exhibition foregrounds the multilingual and multicultural worlds of the contributors, offering personal insights into language, migration, memory, and place.

The workshops were part of an RSE-funded project called Counter-translating the City: Walking through the Linguistic Landscape and Soundscape in Edinburgh, led by Dr Min-Hsiu Liao (2024–2025) in partnership with Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council.

Important points to note

This event is suitable for age 16+

Event format: This event is a guided tour of the exhibition "Between languages, between homes: Visual stories of language and belonging in Edinburgh". You will have the chance to speak with researcher and curator behind the exhibition.

Filming: Photography may take place at this event. Please let a member of the RSE Public Engagement team know if you do not want to be photographed.

SPEAKER

Dr Min-Hsiu Liao

Associate Professor, Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies, Heriot-Watt University

Dr Min-Hsiu Liao’s research explores the material and spatial dimensions of language. Her work investigates linguistic and translation practices in multimodal spaces, including museums, heritage sites, and urban linguistic landscapes. She examines both the use of languages and the experiences of language users, including migrants and other multilingual communities.

She views home languages not as barriers to communication for newcomers to a city, but as valuable assets: sources of security and belonging that can help people connect with a new language, navigate unfamiliar spaces, and potentially build a new home. She is a member of The International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS) and British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL). Her exhibition project for the Curious is funded by The Royal Society of Edinburgh and BAAL, with generous support from Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council. She speaks Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, and English.

About the Curious festival

The RSE’s free Curious festival of knowledge is back, from Saturday 5 − Sunday 13 September 2026!

Curious is Scotland’s annual festival of knowledge. Across its seven-year history, Curious has welcomed over 10,000 attendees into its yearly programme of talks, workshops, discussions and exhibitions – all covering different topics and subject areas. There’s no need for you to have any prior specialist knowledge before coming along, just bring your curious self! With plenty of events both in person and online, you can take part from anywhere.

You can check out the full programme of events here.

Accessibility

We aim to make events as accessible as possible. If you have any accessibility requirements or have any questions related to how we can support this event, please contact curious@theRSE.org.uk. Accessibility information for the RSE building can be found on our website.

Step-free access: Ramped access for visitors is available via 26 George Street through Lakeland. Upon arrival, please call 0131 240 5000 and a member of staff will meet you and guide you to the event. Please note that the entrance ramp has a steep gradient (1:12).

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Description supplied by the event organiser.