Symbiosis 2025 "Envisioning Natural Histories" – Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck
30. October 2025
From 3 to 7 November 2025, the Haus der Natur in Salzburg, together with the Natural History Museum Vienna and the inter-university
organisation Kunst & Wissenschaft (University of Salzburg, Mozarteum University), organised an international conference
entitled "Envisioning Natural Histories".
[Translated
by eTranslation]
The conference offers museum professionals an opportunity to explore historical and contemporary perspectives on the interaction between art and the natural sciences.
Natural history museums document and explore life on earth and shape our perception and understanding of nature. They are embedded in political and social systems, reflect cultural values and contribute to their transformation. Her collections reflect the intertwined global history of the natural sciences.
Natural history museums convey and construct natural history(s). They have always used artistic means to create visual representations of nature and its history. These representations have continuously evolved and reflect different institutional approaches, ranging from the emphasis on "pure science" to the popularization of knowledge. By making the invisible visible, art contributes to scientific communication, but it can also question established visualizations of natural history.
During the conference, which takes place in Vienna (3/4 November), Salzburg (5/6 November) and Innsbruck (7 November at Ambras Castle, the "world's first museum"), the almost 90 participants of the conference from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, France, Germany and Austria will dedicate themselves to topics as diverse as artistic narratives, interpretations and meanings in scientific and museum representations, the (in)visibility of women in museum histories, unpleasant pasts and possible visions of the future.
As part of the conference, a public reading "Poetry, naturally?" by Mara-Daria Cojocaru and Jan Wagner will take place at the Haus der Natur on Thursday, 6 November at 6 p.m.
This reading, in English, is organized in cooperation with the Salzburger Leselampe.
The conference programme can be found here:
https://www.hausdernatur.at/en/symbiosis-2025.html
If you would like more information about the conference or would like to contact us or participants of the conference:
Press contact House of Nature:
Nora Thaler
Tel.: +43 662 84 26 53-246 | presse@hausdernatur.at
General request for information:
Mag. Irina Kubadinov
Head of Press Department, Press Spokesperson, NHM Vienna
https://www.nhm.at/irina _kubadinow
Tel.: +43 (1) 521 77-410 | irina.kubadinow@nhm.at
The conference offers museum professionals an opportunity to explore historical and contemporary perspectives on the interaction between art and the natural sciences.
Natural history museums document and explore life on earth and shape our perception and understanding of nature. They are embedded in political and social systems, reflect cultural values and contribute to their transformation. Her collections reflect the intertwined global history of the natural sciences.
Natural history museums convey and construct natural history(s). They have always used artistic means to create visual representations of nature and its history. These representations have continuously evolved and reflect different institutional approaches, ranging from the emphasis on "pure science" to the popularization of knowledge. By making the invisible visible, art contributes to scientific communication, but it can also question established visualizations of natural history.
During the conference, which takes place in Vienna (3/4 November), Salzburg (5/6 November) and Innsbruck (7 November at Ambras Castle, the "world's first museum"), the almost 90 participants of the conference from Great Britain, Ireland, Canada, France, Germany and Austria will dedicate themselves to topics as diverse as artistic narratives, interpretations and meanings in scientific and museum representations, the (in)visibility of women in museum histories, unpleasant pasts and possible visions of the future.
As part of the conference, a public reading "Poetry, naturally?" by Mara-Daria Cojocaru and Jan Wagner will take place at the Haus der Natur on Thursday, 6 November at 6 p.m.
This reading, in English, is organized in cooperation with the Salzburger Leselampe.
The conference programme can be found here:
https://www.hausdernatur.at/en/symbiosis-2025.html
If you would like more information about the conference or would like to contact us or participants of the conference:
Press contact House of Nature:
Nora Thaler
Tel.: +43 662 84 26 53-246 | presse@hausdernatur.at
General request for information:
Mag. Irina Kubadinov
Head of Press Department, Press Spokesperson, NHM Vienna
https://www.nhm.at/irina _kubadinow
Tel.: +43 (1) 521 77-410 | irina.kubadinow@nhm.at
Title page of the conference programme
Das Titelblatt zeigt ein Gemälde von Wolfgang Grassberger, 1952, Aus dem
Reich unserer Arbeit (400 × 180 cm, Haus der Natur). Das Gemälde, das von E. P. Tratz, dem Gründer des Hauses der Natur,
in Auftrag gegeben wurde, stellt verschiedene Arten der Visualisierung der Naturgeschichte durch ein Museum dar. Unter Ausblendung
seiner Rolle und der Rolle des Museums während der NS-Zeit ist das Bild auch ein Zeugnis für Tratz' Drang nach permanenter
Selbstdarstellung – er ist mehrfach in der Umgebung "seines" Museums zu sehen.
