Exhibition Opening "Symphởny of Spices – Vietnamese Roots, Global Routes"

Name: Exhibition Opening "Symphởny of Spices – Vietnamese Roots, Global Routes"
Start: 2025-08-28T18:00:00+02:00
End: 2025-08-28T21:00:00+02:00
Location: Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich

Schedule

Thu Aug 28 2025 at 06:00 pm to 09:00 pm

UTC+02:00

Location

Völkerkundemuseum der Universität Zürich | Zurich, ZH

This exhibition traces the roots and routes of star anise, cinnamon and cardamom from northern Vietnam, the spice triad of phở soup and mulled wine.
A cordial invitation to the opening
Opening words by (in englischer Sprache / in English)
Alice Hertzog, director
Chu Thu Hằng, counsellor, Embassy of Vietnam in Switzerland
Annuska Derks, Nguyễn Hà Phương and Ngô Thúy Hạnh, curators / researchers
Piriyanga Thillaiyampalam, Paola Arizzi and Livia J. Rohrer, participating students
The exhibition
Spices have connected cultures and cuisines across the globe for over 2000 years. Regarded as one of the first global commodities, they played a major role in European colonization efforts. Yet, we know surprisingly little about their history, their origins, and how they made their way onto our kitchen shelves.
This exhibition traces the roots and routes of star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom from northern Vietnam. This triad of flavours gives the Vietnamese noodle soup phở its distinctive taste, while their aromas awaken a sense of Christmas in Switzerland.
Between phở and mulled wine unfolds a complex web of historical and contemporary connections – from local cultivation to expanding global markets for "exotic" spices. How do spices move from production to consumption? Who are the people behind them? What are they used for? And what memories and associations do their tastes and scents evoke within the Vietnamese diaspora?
The starting point is the research project "Spice Chains in Upland Vietnam" by Prof. Dr. Annuska Derks. She developed the exhibition with students from University of Zurich and researchers from Vietnam.
In the picture, there are various spices from Vietnam at the Đồng Xuân Market in Hanoi. Photo: Annuska Derks, 2018