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

New York 1939: Dawn of a New Day

Launching black-and-white television, fluorescent lighting, Salvador Dalí’s Dream of Venus Pavilion, and the famous Futurama exhibit, the 1939 New York World’s Fair embodied its slogan, “Dawn of a New Day,” for over 40 million visitors. Conceived by a team of New York businessmen as a vision of recovery from the Great Depression, the fair became a sweeping display of technological innovation, design, and cultural spectacle. Hirsh examines the ambitious national pavilions, groundbreaking displays, and short films that brought these achievements to life, while also considering the political tensions and logistical challenges that emerged across the fair’s two seasons in 1939 and 1940, as World War II unfolded in Europe.

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
• October 15: Paris 1937: In the Shadow of War

General Information

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