At the Wolfsonian-FIU, all the world's a fair
'World's Fairs: Visions of Tomorrow' at the Wolfsonian-FIU explores the once-popular International Exposition event format, using the museum's extensive collection of design-related objects to illustrate World's Fair events, which served as celebrations of scientific and technological progress.
'In the past, it was the only big way to see new technologies or representations of nations through their pavilions,' says Silvia Barisione, chief curator at the Wolfsonian.
The exhibition arrives a few months after Expo 2025 officially opened on April 13 in Osaka, Japan's third most populous city and a previous World's Fair host. Neither the current fair nor the previous 1970 edition in the city, which was the first official expo to be hosted in Asia and held the record for most-attended until Shanghai in 2010, are mentioned due to the museum not holding any of the collateral tied to the events in its current collection. Instead, the focus is on the late 19th and early 20th century, the era when World's Fairs were at their height.
Eight expos are covered that illustrate the format's rise, heyday, and decline, from the spectacular Paris Exposition of 1889 through the futuristic New York fairs of 1939 and 1964 to the environmentally focused Expo '74 in Spokane, Washington. They show the transformation of the concept across time: Originally conceived of in the 19th century as soft-power competitions between imperial powers, they evolved into idealistic displays of technological progress and eventually into a way for developing nations to put themselves on the map.
'We have a very comprehensive collection of World's Fair materials,' says Frank Luca, chief librarian at the Wolfsonian. 'So space was the biggest consideration of what we couldn't include, but in terms of what we wanted to include, it was those kinds of iconic structures that really lend themselves to this idea of a Utopian future.'
Objects from various fairs display the major structures and innovations of each event. A bronze statue from the Paris Exposition shows builders crafting the Eiffel Tower, which was built as a temporary structure for the fair. The first consumer television set, an RCA Victor TRK 12 the size of a washing machine, displayed at the 1939 New York World's Fair, shows the role of Expos in debuting new technology.
Posters, brochures, and other archival materials speak to the ways World's Fairs were used as showcases for modern design. A book from the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition shows the German Pavilion, a landmark of the International Style designed by legendary Modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Posters from the Chicago World's Fair of 1933, meanwhile, focus on the emerging Art Deco style that would become extremely popular in Miami Beach the following decade. According to Luca, the fairs of this era were meant to give people hope in dark times.
'During the Great Depression, you had more American World's Fairs than in any other decade,' he says. 'In troubled times, you need to boost people's morale. You need to get architects, engineers, construction workers working to build all these structures, and people to man the buildings and these rides once they are built. This was considered a great way to boost your economy and attract domestic and international tourism. It was considered a win-win, economically and psychologically for people who are extremely stressed.'
The exhibition also shows how World's Fairs have at times given way to more overt political expression. Guidebooks from the 1958 Brussels Expo feature contrasting visions of the future during the Cold War: A consumerist utopia at the U.S. pavilion next to the technological prowess of the Soviet Union. The 1939 section displays a maquette for 'The Threatening Shadow,' a proposed sunshade sculpture modeled after a line of soldiers giving the Nazi salute. Conceived as a cri de coeur against the then-rising wave of fascism sweeping across Europe, it was rejected by the organizers and never built.
Although most World's Fair pavilions are torn down after the end of each exhibition, remnants of various World Expos still exist in cities all over the world. The Eiffel Tower was considered by artists and intellectuals 'a monstrosity at the time,' says Barisione, but soon became a timeless and beloved icon of its city. The same is true of the Atomium in Brussels, the Seattle Space Needle, and Habitat '67 in Montreal. Parks such as Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York and Chicago's Midway are former Expo sites.
Yet despite this legacy, World's Fairs basically disappeared from North America in the 1980s. Geopolitical events such as the oil crisis of 1973 and the environmentalist movement caused the public to call the costly events into question, while theme parks such as Disney's Epcot and sporting events like the Olympic Games began to emerge as alternatives. As a result, Barisione says, 'people don't know what a World's Fair is.'
Yet the curators hope that by educating the public about these utopian events, they can address the similar political issues of our own time.
'We also want to remember the historical context,' says Luca, 'because very often these fairs are done in troubled times, as a means of saying, 'oh, I know things aren't great right now, but things will be better.''
If you go:
WHAT: 'World's Fairs: Visions of Tomorrow'
WHERE: The Wolfsonian-FIU, 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Open until 9 p.m. on Friday. Through Feb. 22, 2026.
COST: $12 for adults; $8 for seniors, students with ID, and children ages six to 18; free for members, Florida residents, visitors with disabilities and accompanying caregivers, children under 6, Florida university system students and staff, and active U.S. military and veterans with ID
INFORMATION: 305-531-1001 or wolfsonian.org
ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit media source for the arts featuring fresh and original stories by writers dedicated to theater, dance, visual arts, film, music, and more. Don't miss a story at www.artburstmiami.com.
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