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Colonialism on the Window Sill

Exhibitions
The picture shows a historical photograph of a plant in a desert region on the one hand and a display object of this plant from the Natural History Museum on the other

About the Event

Colonialism on the Window Sill

This exhibition 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. These plants share a history with our ethnographic collections; some of them joined the objects on long naval voyages to reach Europe and the museums.
Beyond the demand for medicinal plants and crops (nowadays ‘cash crops’ that are cultivated on a grand scale for export), the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries saw a new hunger, even a quest for foreign flora amid deliberations about the potential benefits of plant imports to Europe.

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Among the plants presented in the exhibition is the Norfolk Pine (Araucaria), which had been discovered on Norfolk Island during James Cook’s second voyage in 1774. The history of the African violet is intertwined with a German colonial expedition in 1886, an object from which is now in the Weltmuseum Wien collection. Geraniums (Pelargonia), a popular choice for our flower boxes, hail from South Africa, where they are used for medicinal purposes. This example illustrates the exploitation of the countries of origin, which do not profit from the commercialization of their domestic flora. International agreements such as the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are meant to establish safeguards and rules for including nations of origin in Western profits and to broach the issue of biopiracy, also in light of climate change.

Dates

  • Sun 12/14/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 12/16/2025 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 12/17/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 12/18/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 12/19/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 12/20/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 12/21/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 12/23/2025 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 12/24/2025 10:00 AM – 03:00 PM
  • Thu 12/25/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 12/26/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 12/27/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 12/28/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 12/30/2025 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 12/31/2025 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 01/01/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 01/02/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 01/03/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 01/04/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 01/06/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 01/07/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 01/08/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 01/09/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 01/10/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 01/11/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 01/13/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 01/14/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 01/15/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 01/16/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 01/17/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 01/18/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 01/20/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 01/21/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 01/22/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 01/23/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 01/24/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 01/25/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 01/27/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 01/28/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 01/29/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 01/30/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 01/31/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 02/01/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 02/03/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 02/04/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 02/05/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 02/06/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 02/07/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 02/08/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 02/10/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 02/11/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 02/12/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 02/13/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 02/14/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 02/15/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 02/17/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 02/18/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 02/19/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 02/20/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 02/21/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 02/22/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 02/24/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 02/25/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 02/26/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 02/27/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 02/28/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 03/01/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 03/03/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 03/04/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 03/05/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 03/06/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 03/07/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 03/08/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 03/10/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 03/11/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 03/12/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 03/13/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 03/14/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 03/15/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 03/17/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 03/18/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 03/19/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 03/20/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 03/21/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 03/22/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 03/24/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 03/25/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 03/26/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 03/27/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 03/28/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 03/29/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 03/31/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 04/01/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 04/02/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 04/03/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 04/04/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 04/05/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 04/07/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 04/08/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 04/09/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 04/10/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 04/11/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 04/12/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 04/14/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 04/15/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 04/16/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 04/17/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 04/18/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 04/19/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 04/21/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 04/22/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 04/23/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 04/24/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 04/25/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 04/26/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 04/28/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 04/29/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 04/30/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 05/01/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 05/02/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 05/03/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 05/05/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 05/06/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 05/07/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 05/08/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 05/09/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 05/10/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 05/12/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 05/13/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 05/14/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 05/15/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 05/16/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 05/17/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Tue 05/19/2026 10:00 AM – 09:00 PM
  • Wed 05/20/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Thu 05/21/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Fri 05/22/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sat 05/23/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM
  • Sun 05/24/2026 10:00 AM – 06:00 PM

More Information

Info & Tickets

Event Location

Weltmuseum Wien (World Museum Vienna)
Weltmuseum Wien (World Museum Vienna) exhibition view
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