Kontakt
Mag. Sarah Aistleitner
T +43 1 525 24 4025
sarah.aistleitner@khm.at
Tanja Stigler
T +43 1 525 24 4019
tanja.stigler@khm.at
Colonialism on the Window Sill
28 May 2025 to 25 May 2026
The new exhibition Colonialism on the Window Sill shines a spotlight on ten plants that have been favourites of European living rooms and balconies for centuries, though their natural habitats are outside the continent. Star pine, ficus tree, aloe vera, begonia, geranium/pelargonium, bow string hemp, spider plant, dieffenbachia, cactus, and the African violet: they exemplify the complex interweaving of botany and ethnographic collection history and show the transition from an ‘exotic’ object to an everyday houseplant.
The exhibition in the participatory space zam at the Weltmuseum Wien invites visitors to discover the stories behind well-known non-European crop and medicinal plants. On display are living plants combined with historical objects and photographs from the collections of the Weltmuseum Wien as well as herbarium specimens and images from the Natural History Museum Vienna, the MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, and the Wien Museum.
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Press text "Colonialism on the Window Sill" (pdf, 990 KB)
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