Our Owl Is Pink

Colour brightens up the world. It enthrals us and sparks our imagination. People attach meaning to different colours – and it can vary greatly from culture to culture. 

Our pink owl from Mexico is an eye-catching example: in the company of its friends in the first room, it really stands out. There it will also tell you why.

The other 200-odd objects in our exhibition also have stories to tell about colour, their own colour. They explain how we obtain, make and trade in colour – here colonialism plays a prominent part.

They reveal how colour is used as protection or as jewellery, and how it connects people. Colour conveys messages and stirs emotions.

Colour Makes a Difference
Just how much of a difference colour makes is shown by carnival masks from Basel, decorations for dairy herds in rural Switzerland, devotional images and hand-tinted photographs in the second exhibition space where the batik technique of making designs on cloth can be followed step by step. 

These stories reveal that people use colour quite deliberately: it makes things special, helps draw attention to details, lends significance, illustrates realities, and creates atmosphere.

Colourfully embroidered Ukrainian vyshyvanka blouses are special. Their designs were once believed to ward off evil spirits. Since 2014, but most especially since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, these blouses have become symbols of resistance and solidarity.

A Burst of Colours
The third room offers a burst of colours: whether it’s crimson ponchos and colour samples, purple skirts for a bride, figures made of red camwood, greenstones, yellow feather headdresses, or cakes of indigo, and blue glass beads – they all have an exciting story to tell. 

Visitors can admire a vibrant display of string bags as they make their way into the last gallery, our Creative Space. There, visitors are invited to create their very own colourful worlds and walls, which will gradually become part of the exhibition.

For All the Senses
Even before they reach our Creative Space, visitors can experience colour with all their senses at a number of hands-on areas. After all, colour is not just something for the eyes.

Our exhibition was designed with the help of children and people who are partially-sighted or blind as well as those who are hearing-impaired or deaf. Offering insights into their relationship and experience with colour, their perspectives are part of the exhibition.

The exhibition was made possible with the kind support of:
Stiftung für Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte (SKKG)
Emma Schaub Stiftung
Stiftung Denk an mich
Swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt
SUKOA AG
Stiftung zur Förderung des MKB