Statement of the Problem: Museums of Islamic Arts face the challenge of meaning reproduction and effective storytelling when engaging with contemporary audiences. Despite the visual richness of calligraphy works, traditional display methods in museums are mainly object-oriented and neglect the hidden discursive layers. A research gap indicates that systematic storytelling models that can form the basis of deep engagement with the audience have not yet been precisely extracted. Therefore, the main issue of this article is to identify and codify the discourses that form the foundation of storytelling in specialized calligraphy museums.
Research Objective: The objective of this article is to critically analyze and extract dominant storytelling patterns in the Mir Emad Calligraphy Museum from the perspective of experts, in order to achieve a conceptual framework for redesigning the museum experience.
Research Method: This research has been conducted with a qualitative approach and a case study strategy. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 15 experts (managers, curators, and senior researchers of Islamic art) who were selected using purposeful and snowball sampling methods. Data analysis was performed using qualitative content analysis technique in three stages: open, axial, and selective coding (based on 92 initial concepts and 18 axial categories).
Conclusion: The research findings led to the identification and formulation of six dominant discursive patterns in the storytelling of artworks: aesthetic (focusing on formal aspects), historical-civilizational (identity context), religious-mystical (sacred dimensions), interactive-media (new technologies), narrative-storytelling (storytelling of the artist's life), and audience-centered (adaptation to the needs of visitors). The results show that storytelling in this museum has the potential to move from a static display to a "multi-voiced dialogue field" in which each discourse represents a different layer of meaning for different audiences.