Alles Arbeit: Women's Paid and Unpaid Labor in Post-War Austria Exhibition

This exhibition explores the media portrayal of women's work in post-war Styria, utilizing the extensive 'Foto Blaschka' archive. It examines the complexities of paid employment versus unpaid care work, historical societal expectations, and the often-invisible labor of women.

The exhibition 'Alles Arbeit. Frauen zwischen Erwerbs- und Sorgetätigkeit, Fotoarchiv Blaschka 1950–1966' investigates the representation of female labor in Styria during the 1950s and 1960s, drawing from approximately 60,000 negatives from the Graz press photo agency 'Foto Blaschka'. The show focuses on historical photographs depicting women in various activities, highlighting the economic, social, and media contexts of the early Second Republic. It addresses the societal ideal of the nuclear family with a male breadwinner and female homemaker, even as women were increasingly part of the workforce. The exhibition points out that the economic boom of the post-war era was reliant on both paid and unpaid female labor, with women bearing the primary responsibility for household and care tasks. The display showcases women in diverse roles, including industry, agriculture, services, and care work, often in sectors now considered 'system-relevant'. It also highlights the limited visibility of women's multiple roles and the challenges of single women earning a living wage, with independent female existence often linked to poverty. The visual patterns in the photographs, where women's hands are often focused on rather than the individuals themselves, and men are depicted in more authoritative roles, reveal selective representation and the editorial decisions made by newspapers. The exhibition juxtaposes archival series with published images to underscore this selective portrayal and includes large red text quotes from interviews with women to bring their personal narratives to the forefront. Further contextualizing the exhibition's themes, the story of the Foto Blaschka agency itself is examined. Founded by Egon Blaschka in 1947, the agency was significantly led by Erika Blaschka from the late 1950s. She managed the business, trained apprentices, handled domestic care work, and also worked as a press photographer, a rarity in the male-dominated field of daily reporting. Her career raises questions about authorship within the archive and illustrates how work, even within a family business, did not automatically guarantee security, as her work lacked pension entitlements. The exhibition extends these themes into the present with artistic interventions and interactive stations, inviting visitors to reconsider contemporary debates about work and gender. It also offers various programs, including guided tours and workshops, and a collaboration with the Arbeiterkammer Wien provides a free quota for school classes. A special combi-ticket allows access to a related exhibition, 'Alles in Arbeit,' at the Dom Museum Wien.

Information about guided tours, workshops, and a combi-ticket with the Dom Museum Wien is available. Entry is free on Thursday evenings. Specific dates for guided tours and film screenings are provided. School classes can book workshops, with a free contingent available through cooperation with the Arbeiterkammer Wien. The exhibition runs from January 29, 2026, to January 10, 2027, and a combi-ticket is valid until August 30, 2026, for entry to the Dom Museum Wien exhibition. Specific dates for joint tours of both exhibitions are also listed.