MAB Arpilleras in Austria: traveling exhibition opens in Vienna
In total, 15 pieces produced by affected women from across Brazil are part of the exhibition, which will visit four Austrian cities until April 2026
Published 01/10/2025 - Updated 10/11/2025
“Arpilleras are a way of expressing our anguish, our suffering, and thus they strengthen us. It is a very beautiful craft, which comes from the grassroots to show the world our reality.” The words of Maria Madalena de Oliveira, from Itaituba, in Pará, resonate around the world, echoed by many other Brazilian women.
Starting this Wednesday (1), the stories woven by their hands will be given a privileged space to be heard at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna – Universität für Bodenkultur Wien. The exhibition features 15 Brazilian arpilleras that record the pain, resistance, and hope of women affected by dams and the consequences of climate change, organized by the Movement of People Affected by Dams (MAB).
Highlighting the reality of the Amazon in particular, the exhibition features 13 arpilleras produced in Pará, Rondônia, and Amapá. Each piece is a testament to resilience, resistance, and hope, presenting to the world the reality of Amazonian women, based on their experiences with climate change, environmental destruction, the exploitation of their territories by capital, and the great drought that affected the region in 2023 and 2024. Two other pieces are added and alert to the climate crisis, one from São Paulo and the other from Rio Grande do Sul, which faced an unprecedented environmental disaster in 2024, in the worst flood in its history.
Jaqueline Damasceno, from the national coordination of MAB, explains the context of the arpilleras produced by Amazonian women and reinforces the importance of the exhibition:
“The women affected are denouncing in their arpilleras the various violations of rights present in their daily lives, both in the context of large construction projects and the climate crisis. The pieces produced in the Amazon portray women’s struggle in defense of their territory and their lives. For us, the exhibition is an important space for visibility of our struggle, where we can raise global awareness about the defense of the Amazon.”
The exhibition remains at the Universität für Bodenkultur Wien until November 8. Between November 25 and December 21, it will be at the Afro-Asiatisches Institut in Salzburg, and from January 12 to February 7, it will be in Innsbruck at the Haus der Begegnung. Finally, the 15 pieces will return to Vienna on February 20 for the last exhibition, which will take place at the Votive Church (Votivkirche).
Partnership with horinzont3000
The exhibition is part of the project “Climate Justice for the Amazonian People,” developed by MAB in partnership with the Association for the Defense of the Rights of Affected Populations and Energy Sovereignty (ADPASE), with the support of horizont3000, an Austrian development cooperation organization, with funds from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Economy, DKA-Austria, and Sei So Frei Salzburg.
A coordenadora do Programa Brasil da horizont3000, Kristina Kroyer, relata que é uma honra para a instituição levar as arpilleras à Áustria, e conta que muitas pessoas estão cientes da destruição ambiental na Amazônia, o que coloca em risco o futuro de todos nós. Entretanto, “poucos sabem sobre as graves consequências da crise climática para as pessoas e os meios de subsistência na Amazônia”, alerta.
“The arpilleras on display give us a glimpse into the experiences of the affected women and show us their strength in resisting challenges. We are grateful to MAB for allowing us to exhibit these works in Austria. They help us to better understand the global challenges we face and our need and responsibility to support those affected,” concludes Kristina.
During the opening of the exhibition this morning, speeches were given by the Vice-Rector of the University, Doris Damyanovic; the Head of the Department for International Climate and Environmental Affairs at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate Protection, Environment, Regions, and Water Management, Elfriede More; and the Director of horizont3000, Erwin Eder. This was followed by a video message from MAB and a discussion on the importance of civil society at COP30 in Belém with Edson Krenak, indigenous activist and academic, coordinator of Cultural Survival, and member of the executive committee of the SIRGE Coalition.
Discover the pieces on display in the digital collection
Since 2021, MAB has maintained a digital archive of arpilleras produced by women affected by environmental issues in Brazil. The archive contains a total of 190 pieces, including 50 new arpilleras added this week.
On the website, you can also check out the 15 pieces on display in Austria: Day of Fire; Two Extremes of the Same Crisis; Carbon Market: What For and For Whom?; Save the Amazon; Xingu in Flames; Laranjeiras Collective Urban Resettlement; Amazon: Lungs at Risk; SOS Araguari River; Those Affected by Amapari; SOS Rondônia; Women of Triunfo Confronting Burning and Pesticides; Justice for Nicinha; Solidarity; Memories of the Flood; and Floods in the Pantanal.
