The Western Himalaya Archive Vienna (WHAV) at the University of Vienna’s Department of Art History is a documentation and research center that focuses on the art and material culture of the Western Himalaya region. The WHAV contains the world’s most extensive collection of original, scientifically archived visual documentation and associated research materials for this area. However, the collections far exceed the geographic boundaries of the Western Himalaya region by including original visual resources from countries in South, Central, and Southeast Asia, such as India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China/Tibetan Autonomous Region, Nepal, Burma, Cambodia, and Indonesia.
The WHAV holds more than 120,000 analog and digital visual assets, including more than 75,000 slides, as well as photographs, maps, architectural plans, and drawings, and also long-term loans and contributions from international scholars. These resources primarily result from research expeditions funded by Austrian Science Fund (FWF) grants for research projects such as the CHWH. The WHAV’s archive is intended to be used for documentary and research purposes, as well as for teaching, and is accessible to the international scholarly community and the broader public.
The WHAV is dedicated to the preservation of these unique assets which have enormous documentary value and are thus a unique primary resource for the study and preservation of the artistic and cultural history of these regions. Following established international standards for long-term archiving, the WHAV is currently in the process of digitizing its extensive assets with the goal of facilitating accessibility to the archive. Many of these resources are already available through the WHAV’s online scientific database.
Western Himalaya Archive Vienna (WHAV)
Department of Art History
University of Vienna
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 9
Rooms 3E 03 02, 3E 03 27, 3rd Floor
1090 Vienna, Austria
Tue - Fri: 11.00 � 16.00
(Researchers are requested to make an appointment)
Dr.in Verena Widorn
Department of Art History
University of Vienna
Spitalgasse 2, Hof 9
1090 Vienna, Austria
T: +43-1-4277-414 47
verena.widorn@univie.ac.at
Jürgen Schörflinger, BA (Systemadministrator)
T: +43-1-4277-414 75
whav.kunstgeschichte@univie.ac.at
Photo: D. Klimburg-Salter, Western Himalaya Archive Vienna (WHAV)
