From Chicago to Paris to New York, the World’s Fairs of the 1930s offered visions of a world in flux—attempting to chart a future at a moment when nothing felt stable. As the Great Depression reshaped daily life and global tensions mounted, these fairs became spectacular stages where nations expressed optimism, power, and unease through architecture, technology, and performance. Art historian Jennie Hirsh examines three landmark fairs, revealing how they transformed crisis into dazzling displays that captured both the aspirations and anxieties of their era.

Session Information

Paris 1937: In the Shadow of War

As Europe teetered on the brink of World War II, the 1937 Paris World’s Fair brought together more than 300 pavilions on an unprecedented scale, staging a global conversation about modernity, ideology, and artistic ambition. Monumental architecture and landmark works such as Pablo Picasso’s Guernica reflected a world in which cultural achievement and political tension were increasingly inseparable.

Monumental structures—including Germany’s pavilion by Albert Speer and the Soviet Union’s by Boris Iofan—embodied competing visions of modernity. Hirsh explores how the exposition became a stage for nationalism, artistic innovation, and political spectacle, reflecting both extraordinary creative achievement and the deepening crises of a continent on the edge of war.

Additional Sessions of the Visions of a Brighter Tomorrow: World’s Fairs of the 1930s Series

• September 17: Chicago 1933–1934: A Century of Progress
• November 12: New York 1939: Dawn of a New Day

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