Speaking Through Flowers

Flowers accompany us through life’s big and small moments. They express love, gratitude, comfort or reconciliation, often following unspoken social conventions. As gifts, they tell stories about relationships, emotions and cultural significance. Yet the bouquet of fresh flowers as we know it today only became common practice around 150 years ago – before that, artfully crafted bouquets made of glass, paper or fabric were cherished and enduring gifts.

The exhibition “Speaking Through Flowers. Stories of Giving” invites visitors to rediscover the multifaceted world of floral gifts. It explores the symbolic, political and personal power of flowers, regional artificial flower manufacturers, and contemporary perspectives on plants as intelligent co-creators of our environment. The role of flowers as an expression of self-care and conscious attention is also examined.

The exhibition is complemented by the art project “Forget-Me-Not / Vergissmeinnicht” by Regula Dettwiler in the Antoniuskirche. The exhibition and art project open up new perspectives on the language of flowers in the past and present.