22 July 2025  Textile Traditions and Contemporary Debates at the Heart of Vienna The Weltmuseum Wien, located in the historic Hofburg Palace, is Austria's leading ethnographic museum. It is internationally recognized for its efforts to contextualize cultural artifacts within the broader conversations of identity, colonial legacies, and global interconnection. With its newly launched format WMW Contemporary, the museum repositions itself as a platform for critical artistic voices, especially from the Global South and diasporic communities. Currently on display is the exhibition Who's Wearing the Pants?, which reflects on the relationships between fashion, gender roles, and authority. Later this year, the museum will further enrich its offering with a new series of exhibitions focused on contemporary artistic interpretations of ethnographic themes. Among these, one exhibition stands out for those interested in textiles and fashion: The Colours of the Earth. Modern Textile Art in Mexico, running from October 22, 2025 to April 6, 2026. From Natural Dyes to Global DialogueThe exhibition is curated by Carlos Barrera Reyes, a Mexico City-based artist and researcher with a background in commercial relations and art design. For over 17 years, he has collaborated with more than thirty Indigenous communities in Chiapas and Oaxaca, sharing knowledge and revitalizing the use of natural dyes in textile-making. Chiapas and Oaxaca are states (federal entities) in southern Mexico. Each contains multiple municipalities and Indigenous communities known for their distinctive cultural and artisanal traditions.Barrera Reyes' socially engaged practice combines cultural preservation, ecological awareness, and community empowerment. Through dyeing workshops—primarily with women weavers—he helped revive Mayan techniques using natural materials such as grana cochinilla (fuchsia), añil (blue), and barba de león (yellow). These colors and techniques were nearly lost due to commercialization and the influence of synthetic dyes and fast fashion. In The Colours of the Earth, visitors will encounter contemporary huipiles, ceremonial garments rich in meaning, alongside the very looms they were woven on. The exhibition does not stop at heritage, however—it also engages with the current influences of fashion trends and social media on traditional textile production, exploring how global market dynamics shape the livelihoods and aesthetics of Indigenous artisans today. Art, Knowledge, and Sustainable FuturesCarlos Barrera Reyes already has a connection to the Weltmuseum Wien through his involvement in the study and replication of a colonial Mexican feather insignia (source). His work drew on research into the museum's fragile historic feather headdress, which cannot be transported and remains one of its most iconic objects. This connection was further deepened through a workshop he led at the museum in November 2024, Colouring Feathers with Natural Dyes, which explored traditional dyeing techniques in a hands-on setting.This earlier engagement with cultural heritage connects directly to the project featured in the upcoming exhibition, where Barrera Reyes continues his commitment to knowledge transfer within local communities, ensuring that traditional skills are passed on rather than extracted. As described in the article A Genealogy of Colors on Places Journal, his work is not merely about craft—it is about autonomy, identity, and resisting the cultural flattening effects of global commerce. His project culminated in an earlier exhibition at La Enseñanza in San Cristóbal de las Casas in 2024, and now arrives in Vienna, offering Austrian audiences a chance to see Indigenous artistry not as a static artifact, but as a living, evolving practice shaped by environmental, economic, and aesthetic forces. Looking Ahead: Autumn in ColorAs the summer holidays draw to a close, the Weltmuseum Wien opens its doors to an autumn filled with global perspectives and vivid storytelling. The Colours of the Earth invites visitors to consider how traditions evolve and endure within an increasingly interconnected world. In an era dominated by fast fashion and fleeting online trends, the exhibition sheds light on how communities in Mexico are actively reclaiming their textile heritage—not simply to preserve it, but as a powerful expression of resilience, creativity, and cultural agency. It is a resonant reminder that when the world arrives in Vienna, it carries with it stories spun from threads of history, resistance, and renewal.Image: Victoria Villaseñor, a weaver from the community of San Mateo del Mar, works on a traditional backstrap loom. Her craft is part of the vibrant textile revival in Mexico showcased in the exhibition 'The Colours of the Earth. Modern Textile Art in Mexico' (opening October 22, 2025) at the Weltmuseum Wien. Photo: © Carlos Barrera Reyes |