close
Contact
If you have any questions about the project please contact us below.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Your message has been sent!
Thank you for contacting us. We will get back to you as soon as possible.
send a new message
close
Contact
return
Words by Claudia Augustat

'Extinctions!?' exhibition Weltmuseum Wien

Zemi belt, Taino, Greater Antilles, 1520–1560, snail shells, teeth, cotton, obsidian, brass, glass mirror, Ambras Collection, Weltmuseum Wien © KHM-Museumsverband

zam, 23 February 2023 to 2 April 2024

In light of the ongoing climate crisis and its impact on biodiversity, questions and fears of endangerment and loss are at the centre of public discourse. A sixth major extinction event is expected in the course of the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is the age in which humans become the most important factor influencing the biological, geological and atmospheric processes of the Earth. In collaboration with partners from Latin America in particular, this exhibition questions common narratives of extinction and retells them from other perspectives. The collections of the Weltmuseum Wien contain objects that can be used to tell stories about the extinction of human cultures, but which also talk about their resilience and survival.

The exhibition is part of the project “TAKING CARE – Ethnographic and World Cultures Museums as Spaces of Care” launched in October 2019. It places ethnographic and world cultures museums at the centre of the search for possible strategies to explore connections between ethnographic collections and questions about the climate crisis and the Anthropocene. In this context, the project also addresses issues related to the afterlife of colonialism. Co-funded by the EU’s Creative Europe program, this four-year project brings together fourteen partner organizations.

zam

The exhibition will be the first in the new participatory space zam, that is free to enter. zam is a  space for collaboration. We will address current and relevant questions in partnership with societies of origin, remembrance groups, communities, and visitors. Together ("gemeinzam"), we will develop, design, and present our topics and exhibit them in varying forms.

zam is a place, where people listen and talk to each other and share experiences. It is a place, where we rethink roles in the museum: curators become sources, communities of origin tell their own stories, visitors curate. zam is not just an exhibition space. It is a production site where work processes become visible and can be experienced. We invite you to participate actively in the museum as well as in our many workshop programs.

More about the upcoming exhibition workshops and events here and our social media channels.

recent articles