Ishír – Living Memory from Paraguay
Weltmuseum Wien · until January 24, 2027
With “Ishír – Living Memory from Paraguay”, an extraordinary project was created at the Weltmuseum Wien, in which memory is not only preserved, but re-examined from the perspective of the present and passed on.
The decisive impetus for this project came from cultural manager Isabel Arévalos Martínez, who initiated the idea and thus set in motion a process that connects people, institutions, historical collections and contemporary artistic positions.
The exhibition was created in cooperation between the Weltmuseum Wien, the Austrian Latin America Institute (LAI) and representatives of the Ishír from Paraguay.
The project focuses on the rediscovery of a historical collection of photographs and objects from the Ishír people, now housed in the Weltmuseum Wien (World Museum Vienna). However, the project deliberately does not only look back. Rather, it explores how the Ishír themselves tell and make visible their history, their cultural identity, their spiritual traditions, and their relationship with nature from a contemporary perspective.
Art as living memory
Isabel Arévalos Martínez and Sonia Siblik jointly curated the artistic part of the exhibition.
It was particularly important to us to directly integrate contemporary artistic voices from Paraguay into the dialogue with the historical collection. Here, art is not used to illustrate a past culture, but rather becomes its own language – a language of memory, identity, resistance, and the transmission of knowledge.
A special focus is placed on the works of the Ishír artist Salmia López Balbuena, whose paintings offer insights into rituals, narratives, connection to nature and the spiritual world of her people.
This artistic dialogue is complemented by works from artists of Nivaclé:
Esteban Klassen · Estela Julius · Osvaldo Pitoé · Floriberta Fermín
Their works broaden the perspective of the exhibition and make it clear that the Gran Chaco is not a culturally homogeneous space, but home to diverse indigenous communities with their own histories, traditions and artistic expressions.
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©Salmia L. Balbuena 2025
© Weltmuseum Wien 2026
From museum to personal experience
An important part of the project also took place outside the museum.
BasementArt by LichTraum offered two painting workshops with Salmia López Balbuena. Participants had the rare opportunity not only to learn about her artistic methods, but also to meet her personally, paint with her, listen to her work, and exchange ideas.
A truly special moment arose during one of these meetings through Don Bruno, a shaman and representative of the Ishír people from Paraguay. He invited the participants to a shamanic ceremony, thus opening a space for a form of encounter that went far beyond the purely artistic.
For a moment, the exhibition, workshop and cultural exchange became something very personal: a direct encounter between people, experiences and different forms of knowledge.
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©Salmia L. Balbuena 2025
That is precisely where this project holds special significance for us.
Living memory is not created simply by preserving things. It arises when people can tell their own stories, when knowledge is passed on, and when we are willing to listen to one another.
“Ishír – Living Memory from Paraguay” connects past and present and creates a space where historical cultural heritage and contemporary indigenous voices meet.
And perhaps therein lies the strongest form of remembering:
not only to look back, but to ensure that a story can live on and be retold by the people themselves.
Artistic curation:
Isabel Arevalos Martinez & Sonia Siblik
Featuring works by:
Salmia López Balbuena (Ishir)
Esteban Klassen (Nivaclé)
Estela Julius (Nivaclé)
Osvaldo Pitoé (Nivaclé)
Floriberta Fermín (Nivaclé)
Cooperation partners:
Weltmuseum Wien · Austrian Latin America Institute · Representatives of the Ishír people from Paraguay
Accompanying program at BasementArt by LichTraum:
Two painting workshops with Salmia López Balbuena and a meeting with Don Bruno, shaman and representative of the Ishír from Paraguay.