Persia Reimagined
From Herbarium to Heritage
Dates and time
30 September 2025 to 21 January 2026
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10am - 4pm
Location
Library Reading Room, Herbarium Building, Kew Gardens
Price
Free admission, no booking required
Come to the reception in the Herbarium building off Kew Green (outside the Gardens) and you will be directed to the Reading Room on the first floor.
Our new Library & Archives display 'Persia Reimagined: From Herbarium to Heritage' takes a new look at our Persian collections.
By examining materials from plant collectors such as Edward Balls or Otto Stapf, we explore more of their cultural and social experiences during their travels. They recorded anecdotes and tales of their hosts, the people they encountered during plant collecting expeditions, and social customs they observed. The exhibition's co-curator, Archives volunteer Shabnam Balouch, provides a deeper cultural and historical context on these predominantly British perspectives, looking at them in a new light and making them more accessible to new communities.
This exhibition features diaries, notebooks, photo albums, botanical illustrations, and a colourful addition from our co-curator's textile collection, examining the botanical and beyond.
